Who Needs to Follow State Animal Laws?

[Animal Ark]

A series of animal-related complaints & news stories in recent years have me wondering why Minnesota's largest animal welfare organization refuses to follow animal laws in our state.

One such complaint is about a young stray kitten that was taken to the Animal Humane Society shelter in Golden Valley. In spite of the fact that Minnesota State Law requires that impounding agencies hold stray animals for a period of at least 5 business days, this healthy kitten was killed within 5 minutes of being admitted to the Animal Humane Society.

For those unfamiliar with relevant State Statues, I am providing the following text from Minnesota Statute 35.71 Subd. 3.

Subd. 3.Stray animals; seizure, disposition. All animals seized by public authority must be held for redemption by the owner for at least five regular business days of the impounding agency or for a longer time specified by municipal ordinance. For the purpose of this subdivision, "regular business day" means a day during which the establishment having custody of an animal is open to the public not less than four consecutive hours between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Establishments must maintain the following records of the animals in custody, and preserve the records for at least six months: (a) the description of the animal by species, breed, sex, approximate age, and other distinguishing traits; (b) the location at which the animal was seized; (c) the date of seizure; (d) the name and address of the person from whom any animal three months of age or over was received; and (e) the name and address of the person to whom any animal three months of age or over was transferred.
The records must be maintained in a form permitting easy perusal by the public. A person may view the records and animals in custody at any time during which the establishment is open to the public. At the end of the five-day period, all animals which remain unredeemed must be made available to any licensed institution which has requested that number of animals.(*snip*)

Note that no exceptions are made for this mandatory 5-day hold.

The obvious rationale for such a law is to ensure that owners of animals picked up and taken in as strays have time to find their lost pets. The Animal Humane Society did not appear to follow this law in this case. Even more troubling, following a complaint by this kitten's rescuers the Site Manager for the Animal Humane Society's Golden Valley shelter responded, in part, with the following statement:

It is the position of the Animal Humane Society to humanely euthanize felines determined to be feral. This is typically done the same day the animal arrives and is assessed.

Setting aside the fact that it is impossible to determine whether or not a stray cat is "feral" the day it arrives at an animal shelter (I know several house pets that would behave pretty wildly if brought to a shelter), the relevant state law makes no exception for animals believed to be potentially "feral".

Nearly 9 months ago, a letter was written to the CEO of the Animal Humane Society stating this policy was in violation of Minnesota State law and asking they bring their policies and practices into compliance with state law. There has been no response, other than a simple acknowledgement that the communication was received.

There was a story in the Pioneer Press earlier this week related to seven stray cats captured in Afton and taken to the Animal Humane Society in Woodbury. The cats were all killed within hours of arrival at the Humane Society. The cats had no serious medical problems.

Ironically, our local humane society has historically blamed the low reclamation rates for stray animals, and, therefore, the high kill rates in their shelters, on "irresponsible pet owners". It is, therefore, necessary to point out that if animal shelters do not provide pet owners adequate opportunities to find their lost pets, the deaths of the animals are not the responsibility of the owners. The deaths are the responsibility of the organization killing the pets.

But the problem of unnecessary killing of stray animals goes farther than that.

State law also requires that those taking in stray animals post public notice they have done so. In combination with the required 5-day holding period, this public notice significantly increases the likelihood that owners of lost pets will find them.

Complying with this required public notice is easy. There is a shared online database of lost and found pets serving Minnesota.

18 months ago, I wrote a letter to the Animal Humane Society asking they begin publishing photos and descriptions of stray animals at their facilities. Nearly 2 years later, they have yet to do so.

So, the questions remain:

How can people find their lost pets if the organization taking them in does not make information about them available to the public?

How can people find lost pets if the organization taking them in is killing them without giving their owners an opportunity to find them?

How can we trust an organization to help enforce animal welfare laws, when they won't follow them themselves?

[Diana]

if only we could have someone volunteer there wearing a hidden camera. i wish i had thought of this sooner... or testimony on an expose of all of the volunteers who have been fired for no good reason. hmmm...

[Animal Ark]

That is a really good question, Linda.

I have gotten several calls from people who have been making several suggestions and are looking into various options. A complaint with the MN AG's office would certainly be appropriate. Additionally, complaints with various county courts would also be called for. On top of that, complaints with the municipalities that contract for impound services with AHS would also seem warranted.

[Linda Dornseif]

Does a formal complaint need to be filed with law enforcement relating to the breaking of this law. If so, who can file this complaint? Would it help or hurt this cause.........would it make a difference? I don't know much about this but could we file a formal complaint as a group?

[Animal Ark]

Hi Lin,

Excellent questions and comments. Based on all of the data available, I believe AHS, and the entire Twin Cities Metro area, could become no kill within a matter of weeks, or a few months at the most.

As we all know, the majority of the deaths are cats. As this current issue highlights, the deaths are unnecessary. There are good, humane, effective and cost effective solutions for unsocialized cats.

If you visit a humane society, you will see they have plenty of kennel space to accommodate more dogs.

We could achieve no kill pretty quickly. Additionally, maintaining that status would be easier long-term if high-volume, low-cost spay/neuter programs were expanded, or if AHS were simply to implement one.

[Lin Eckland]

I did write to Ms Dixon after the St. Anthony cats were euthanized, and got a standard yada yada response, that answered none of my questions, and illustrated how far removed she is from actual humane care! I would love to see attorneys involved on behalf of the animals, if there is a solid case.
What kind of timeline would we be looking at if they did decide to become no-kill? I don't think it would take over a year, and I don't think they need MnPAW to do it, but I could be wrong....

[Shari Timberlake]

Yes, Patti and Mike, I do know that there have been several news reports and articles... You would certainly have thought that there would have been repercussions over the Channel 5 report exposing their many lies to the media and the public about the St Anthony Cats...Sadly, it was not so. The article in City Pages was equally inflamatory but nothing much there either... As Nathan Winograd would tell us, I guess we just continue to fight the good fight until we get the proper attention from their donors and the general public. Maybe if we have another news expose focusing on this particular issue it will reach a few more folks. I do know that some of their recent bad press has been noticed by some of their supporters that were previously unaware of what goes on there and they no longer donate to AHS. That's what it's going to take...

[Phyllis Colombo]

Hi Mike - Clearly AHS is not complying w/MS371. We do have several attorneys in our rescue community who may wish to help with this issue. And we can plan a protest at the Golden Valley facility & contact local media. I know lots of rescuers who would participate. We need to let the public know about AHS' non-compliance with the law and hopefully hit them where it hurts - right smack in the wallet. Phyllis

[Animal Ark]

Hi Patty,

You are right. Not only did Channel 5 provide some insightful reporting on the actual story regarding the St. Anthony cat situation, City Pages conducted a pretty complete assessment of the kill rate at AHS.

They keep getting away with it because a lot of people are simply not paying close attention and like to think that a "humane society" has the animals' interests in mind.

[Patti Atlas]

Peggy and Shari-
There have been exposes on GVAHS. Channel 5, especially, got down on them when they "brought in" the
100+ cats from the hoarder. Somehow or other, they are able to 'wiggle out' of the tough questions, and
throw on a happy face for the uneducated public.
Mike, and Ark Board, we need to stop them from this kind of uncaring, irresponsible, illegal behavior.

[Shari Timberlake]

I agree with Peggy...an expose is needed and fast!! More of the same is just not acceptable and as long as the law is not being enforced (and why is that??) this will continue... I'm blown away by their seeming ignorance (or is it just lack of caring) of "behavior issues" that are simply a manifestation of the cat or dog's fear of their situation. Cats especially will act in a "feral" manner when in a terrifying situation. As one who has volunteered in many rescue situations, that is actually the norm vs. a "friendly" kitty that is happy to see you! Does AHS really know how to accurately assess a cat or a dog? I think not...

This killing scenario seems to play out over and over with AHS ( we have not forgotten the St Anthony cat slaughter either) and I wonder now why that didn't draw the attention of the law! Who should be enforcing compliance with the 5 day rule?? I am really interested in knowing...