In his latest Daily Journal "Takings Talk" column, Manatt Appellate Senior Counsel Michael Berger discussed a case in which a resident of Albuquerque, New Mexico issued a complaint alleging that the city negatively impacted the value of her property because it did not follow the proper protocol for releasing cats as part of a TNR (trap, neuter and release) program. The courts refused to treat animals as “government agents” and left the property owners to deal with feral animals on their own. This seems contrary to other case law.
Berger compared it to several other cases with similar animal-related property takings issues, and concluded, "the bottom line of the established cases is that government, like the rest of us, is responsible for the consequences of its actions."
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