| 17 © 2026 Alley Cat Allies. All rights reserved. Legislative Victories for Cats ASH (left) and PILUCO (right), the community cats who inspired The Ash Law. Bringing Forward the 1st Comprehensive Statewide TNR Law In 2025, Alley Cat Allies drafted and named The Ash Law in Maryland—the first comprehensive statewide law to protect Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR)—and inspired sponsors to champion the legislation. The Ash Law establishes and protects TNR as the law of the land, provides descriptions that defend community cat caregivers, and prevents local jurisdictions from prohibiting or restricting TNR efforts. Other laws, like legislation passed in Texas, do not go far enough in TNR protections, as they can still be overwritten and negated by local laws. Right now, The Ash Law is being considered by the Maryland legislature. If it passes, Maryland will be at the forefront of the humane movement, and inspire communities across the United States to follow! The Story Behind The Ash Law Ash, a community cat, lived peacefully in Riverdale, Maryland, with her feline family. In 2016, when she was four years old, she gave birth to six kittens. But due to a single call to animal control, the entire little family was impounded. Ash spent her last day in a cage at a shelter. Within 24 hours, she and her newborn kittens were killed. Piluco, her colony member, avoided the same fate out of sheer luck. Instead, he was neutered, vaccinated, eartipped, and returned to his outdoor home through TNR policies. But Piluco’s TNR was carried out in a vacuum of official humane programs in his county. He is still here today DESPITE lethal policy that took the lives of so many cats like him—like Ash. While Ash’s story exposes the consequences of cruel policies that treat cats’ lives as disposable, Piluco’s illustrates what is possible when TNR is embraced. As of the creation of The Ash Law, Piluco is in his golden years at the age of 16, and spends peaceful hours in the same outdoor home he once shared with Ash. In their honor, Alley Cat Allies drafted, named, and found sponsors for The Ash Law, to ensure every community cat has a chance to live the full life he or she deserves. DONATE NOW
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