Allie Phillips, director of the National Center for Prosecution of Animal Abuse, states that stray and feral cats are often seen as unsympathetic, and less worthy of the legal protection which she believes they merit [REF].
Less positive were Merritt, British Columbia officials, when in January 2012, a bylaw officer removed cat food and asked the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to consider criminal charges against those feeding the community cats [REF].