Culver City Observer
January 16, 2008 Letters to the Editor Dear Editor, It's About Time. At last concerned citizens in Culver City can say, "It's about time!" On December 20,2007, the news was released that the national No Kill Advocacy Center, along with individually named plaintiffs, filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control. Also sued was the Department's Director, Marcia Mayeda. The lawsuit asks a Superior Court Judge to order Los Angeles County, its Department of Animal Care and Control, and department head Marcia Mayeda to comply with state laws that protect animals from arbitrary and inhumane treatment. Among the allegations in the 29 page complaint, it is alleged that the Department of Animal Care and Control routinely: - Kills healthy and treatable animals before their state mandated holding period expires; - Misclassifies animals as "ill" or "injured" in order to kill them before their holding period expires, even though the animals are not irremediably suffering as required by state law; - Kills lost animals without making reasonable attempts to find the animals owners; - Fails to provide adequate veterinary care to impounded animals, resulting in animal deaths; - Fails to provide adequate nutrition, water, shelter and exercise to impounded animals and to treat the animals humanely and kindly; - Refuses to release animals to rescue groups that are willing to care for them until adoptive homes can be found and, instead, kills them. For years there has been an outcry from concerned residents in Culver City about the filth, neglect and abuses at the Carson shelter used by Culver City. Unfortunately, our City Council chose to ignore the enormous amount of evidence presented to them of animal abuse and neglect and voted instead to reward the county with an unusual five-year contract! This was done in spite of the evidence presented to the Council at several different City Council meetings, as well as through e-mails, letters, pictures, videos, and declarations sent by Culver City residents over a period of years. However, the fact that the City Council sits on its hands and chooses to look the other way when faced with evidence of cruelty does not mean that citizens cannot act independently and take action - as this lawsuit affirms. Friends of Culver City Animals have long championed a break with the County's Department of Animal Care and Control and reliance on the County animal control officers. We welcome input from the community so that individual experiences with the Carson shelter in particular can be further documented and shared with interested parties. This can be done by contacting Friends of Culver City Animals at (888) 893-9909 and/or [email protected]. In a related article, the Culver City Observer pointed out in its December 27, 2007 edition that County Supervisor Yvonne Burke has ordered an investigation of the Carson shelter in response to numerous complaints by citizens, the media, and advocacy groups, including residents of Culver City. To which we would like to say again, "It's about time!" Deborah Weinrauch Friends of Culver City Animals |