Neighbors are Usually There to Help Their Neighbors, Not Shoot Their Zebras; Animal Control Out of Control

Today's News of the Bizarre and Tragic:

Bad Zeeba Neighbors?
Apparently, some Zebras escaped off the Hearst Ranch in California, where they ended up spooking the local livestock until getting shot. After offing the zebras, one of the neighbors decided the best course of action would be to send the corpses off to a taxidermist. No word on whether he did this before or after letting the Hearst family know the zebras had been shot (or if the Hearsts are still speaking with their neighbors).

Animal Control Officers Gone Wild?
Don't know too many details about this story so far, other than a Memphis woman killed herself after an animal control officer came by her house, removing all of her pets. Witnesses saw her literally beg the officer to let her keep at least one pet, but her pleas went unanswered. She was cited for 1) loose dogs, 2) no license, and 3) failing to spay/neuter her animals -- oh, and after the woman's suicide, the city re-wrote the ticket to the husband. Memphis Animal Control might want to hire a new PR firm after this.

Details on the health of the dogs and cats and their living conditions are unknown, though the news article spoke of the smell of ammonia in the house, and the husband (by his own admission) says the house was a wreck.

Regardless, it's tragic the woman felt she had no other option but suicide, and extremely troubling that an animal control agency felt it could barge right in and take her animals (which is certainly how it seems, with what we know so far). This is definitely a story we'll be keeping our eyes on.

Comments

[Never Say Never Greyhounds]

Its so hard to get animal control involved in so many cases... I kind of doubt they just picked on some nice lady that was taking good care of the animals. I put my money on the conditions being bad.

[arrowhead]

in some jurisdictions it's true that animal control doesn't seem to do ANYTHING, which can be extremely frustrating.

but you're dreaming if you don't think some animal control agencies and their officers aren't EXTREMELY overzealous and willing to intimidate/pretend they're police officers.

anyway the news report was definitely taking the lady's side, but I don't think anybody's saying she's JUST some "nice lady who had her dogs taken away." both the article and the blog post make a point to refer to signs of poor living conditions (the ammonia scent and "wrecked" house) and the things she was cited for.

[Jes]

Since when is being cited for a loose dog, no license and the animals not being altered that constitutes a seizure of ALL the animals. Even the smell of ammonia and a wrecked house cannot constitute a seizure. Under state statutes, animals have to be in eminent danger (meaning risk of death) to be seized with out a search warrant. What happened to our Civil Rights? Right to Due Process.

Our society is allowing our Civil Rights to be tromped on all the time. And even support it in the name of "animal rescue". Fact is, it's become so popular to "rescue animals" that agencies all across the county are participating in illegal search and seizures and getting sued out of the deal. Including instances of animals being healthy prior to seizures and then dying in the care of the rescuers.

People should be outraged at what's happening and demand accountability of rescue agencies and animal control agencies. Yes these people have a job to do and we need to support that, but demand that their jobs are done under color of law.