RE: Opposition to LB 25

I am the Chairperson of The International Cat Association (TICA) Legislative Committee. TICA is the largest genetic registry of cats worldwide with members and shows across the world including the United States, Europe, Asia, South America, Central America and Canada. I am requesting that you vote against LB 25.

Protecting against rabies is a legitimate social issue to be addressed by government. One concern sometimes expressed is the effectiveness of the rabies vaccine in domestic hybrid cats. No vaccine is 100% effective even in the species for which it was designed but the currently available rabies vaccinations offers protection in carnivore species as diverse as skunks, ferrets, raccoons, jackals, coyotes, grey foxes, red foxes, and every carnivore species tested. It seems unlikely that such rabies vaccinations would fail to offer protection in domestic hybrid cats. Yet the proposed legislation would require vaccine companies to spend $500,000 or more (and require the decapitation of many innocent hybrid cats) to prove the vaccine works without the possibility of return of the funds through the small profit per vaccine sold. The likelihood that the vaccine companies would be willing to do that for each hybrid breed is remote. Yet without this scientific proof, the hybrid animals must be placed out of state or euthanized within a year. This is extremely discriminatory against the hybrid breeds when other pet vectors of rabies are not required to be vaccinated at all. Bunnies and guinea pigs are susceptible to rabies yet they do not have to be vaccinated even though many of them live outside. (Kristin Filseth, DVM)

It should also be noted that zoos vaccinate wild cats for Rabies, Panleukopenia, Feline leukemia virus, Feline infectious peritonitis, Feline immunodeficiency virus, and Rhinotracheitis (all diseases of domestic cats) even though very few scientific studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of these vaccines in wild animals. Ninety-five percent of the rationale for using vaccines in wild animals is based upon years of observation, empirical data, and conjecture and not scientific proof. (Ron Hines DVM PhD). Zoos are not going to spend money vaccinating unless the vaccination is believed to be beneficial. If lions, tigers and cougars receive protection from the rabies vaccines, there is no reason to believe that domestic hybrid cats do not receive protection from rabies vaccination. I am attaching the Dr. Filseth letter, Dr. Hines article and several abstracts from the Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association showing efficacy in several species of animals.

Virtually all mammals are susceptible to rabies. Would you make the decision to prohibit ownership of all mammals that are not vaccinated against rabies that is scientifically proven effective in that species? Or is the purpose of the proposed legislation really to prohibit certain animals you do not want in your community? If it is the latter, that question generally goes to the perceived dangerous personality inappropriately associated with the domestic hybrid cats.

TICA has an established process for accepting new breeds. The process is long an arduous one with specific and stringent requirements that must be met. Only domestic cats with domestic temperaments suitable for showing or placement in pet homes are ultimately accepted as new breeds

TICA currently has 3 domestic hybrid breeds that can be shown in a given class (The U.S. Federal Animal Welfare Act defines domestic x wild hybrids as domestic cats). The Bengal has completed the long and difficult process of achieving competitive status with the Persians, Maine Coons, and Siamese. The Savannah and Chausie breeders are working towards that goal and can be exhibited in their respective non competitive (evaluation) classes. It is no easy accomplishment and takes strong commitment on the part of the breeders to get their breed accepted into the competitive classes. No kitten or cat can be shown in a competitive class if a parent, grandparent or great grandparent is a non-domestic ancestor.

The TICA process requires that the breed be brought before the Board of Directors (BOD) several times for evaluation, input, and possibly advancement by the BOD. The breeds must also be presented to judges for evaluations and recommendations during the breed’s development. Breeders must be prepared to spend many years to develop their domestic hybrid breed and meet each successive requirement set forth by TICA to finally achieve the right to compete in the competitive classes.

Bengals have become a very popular pet and show cat with the most registrations in TICA for any breed for several years running. They are a beautiful cat, and along with other domestic hybrids, allow a person to own a cat with a wild look that is truly a domestic cat. All three breed associations [The International Bengal Cat Society: http://www.bengalcat.com/main.aspx , Chausie Breed Committee: http://www.chausiebreedcommittee.com/ , and The Savannah Cat Club: http://www.savannahcatclub.com/ ] recommend against owning the wild ancestor for most people because of the special needs of the wild cats.

All show cats, regardless of breed, must have an unchallenging disposition. This is requirement in every TICA standard. To understand that the domestic hybrid breeds are as docile as our other domestic cats, one must understand domestic cat history. Although domestic cats descend primarily from F. silvestris libyca which may have been living along side people in towns in Palestine as long as 7,000 years ago, actual domestication did not occur until 4,000 years ago in Egypt. Even after 4,000 years of domestication, our domestic cats still retain many of the same behaviors as their wild cousins – large and small. There is little reason to believe that our domestic cat’s behavior in noncaptive conditions would differ greatly from F. silvestris. The cat population on Macquarie Island has been feral since 1820. As would be expected from the behavior of F. silvestris, the feral cats sheltered in rabbit burrows, thick vegetation or rock piles and eating rabbits, rats, mice, birds and carrion. Unlike the domestic hybrid breeds, the Macquarie Island cats are not bred in captivity and do not have close daily interactions with people. Selective breeding and human interaction contribute to making the personality of the domestic hybrid breeds indistinguishable from other domestic cats.

To try to classify these domestic hybrid cats as inherently dangerous does a disservice to these breeds, their owners, and would introduce an administrative enforcement nightmare for Nebraska. Last year alone over 5300 Bengals were registered with TICA and most pet owners do not bother to register their pet quality cats with TICA at all. The number only increases when you add in the other domestic hybrid breeds. It is reasonable to expect that a number of these cats currently reside in Nebraska and do so without imposing any problems on the citizens of the state.

If the committee has any additional questions I will try to answer those questions or put the Committee in contact with people who can answer the questions. I may be contacted at kcrouch1@austin.rr.com

Regards,

Kelly Crouch
Chair, TICA Legislative Committee