rabies but that’s not the issue here. With all respect intended, our government’s powers are limited to
what the law or the State constitution provides to the government in way of power. Here, the City is not
legally authorized under current State law and municipal ordinance to impound cats as strays or for
running at large. If the City wants to impound cats as strays or for running at large, or in fact is doing so
as a matter of practice, then it should modify its animal ordinance to provide for such. Amending the
ordinance would likewise serve to put cat owners on notice that their cat may not go off their property
without the possibility of being seized and impounded by the City and it’s ACO.
Third and as mentioned, the City has no licensing law for cats. The purposes of a licensing law
for animals in my view include: assuring the City knows which animals reside in the City and that they
are properly vaccinated; informing animal owners of the need to vaccinate; informing animal owners of
conduct by their animals that is violative of City law; putting animal owners on notice of penalties for
violations of the ordinance or related City law, including monetary penalties or penalties involving
seizure and impounding of animals; requiring that licensed animals be identifiable in some fashion
including so the City can provide notice to the owner of seizure of the animal; and, providing the City
with a database maintained by and available to the City so it can provide such notice to the owners of
seized animals. All of these things are presently absent given the lack of a licensing law for cats in
Nashua. If the City is going to seize any animal, including cats or ferrets, for running at large or as strays
they should first license those animals including so the City has a way to allow the seized animal’s owner
to retrieve their pet.
Fourth, the lack of a licensing law for cats and the mechanism for identifying cats so owners can
be advised of their seizure poses the potential that the City will seize an animal and deprive it’s owner of
possession of the animal in a way that violates the owner’s due process rights under the 14"
amendment to the federal constitution. Animals are personal property under NH law. The federal
