What can be done about animal abuse?

[arthunter]

Hello fellow waccos,

I rarely post, so when I do you know that it's important to me ...

Over a year ago a tenant of mine "removed" one of my cats from my home. He didn't like him or me, not sure which, but the poor cat paid the price. He could have been dumped in the wild, murdered, or downright stolen. Though I've been searching for him for over a year, I have not found him. He's a large timid orange tabby cat with gold eyes just in case you've noticed one hiding on your property.

But I'm not writing about poor Mac ... hopefully someone kind took him in and he's happy and comfortable. I'm writing because during these many months of searching and saving other cats that I find, I've run across repeated instances and stories of animal abuse.

I spent my day off last weekend trying to trap a cat in the town of Sonoma because someone was poisoning the animals there. Before that, someone was trapping all of the ferals ( who were receiving excellent care without negative consequences to anyone ) and removing them in the same neighborhood.

Then there was the shooting of the cat in Graton. Today I received an email about a dog shot in San Francisco. A friend of mine saved a cat who had lost one eye because someone threw acid on him. I heard a story yesterday about a horse who will have to be euthanized because of severe infection, the owner just ignored it ... and it goes on and on ...

I'm wanting to publicly gather support for the publicizing and enforcement of animal abuse laws but I don't know how to do it ... I'd also like to promote a public file of animal abusers and where they live so that the public can be informed ... like child abusers, this info needs to be out in the open somehow ...

If you can think of any way to get started on this then please let me know ... I haven't got a clue ...

[jesswolfe]

Synchronicity it seems. Today we had an incident where one of our members found a head from a dog tied to a post. She disposed of it because she didn't want the kids in the neighborhood to see it. So we went on the hunt to see who to talk to about animal abuse. My first impulse was Animal Control. Unfortunately they do not serve our area and told us to call the cops. So that is what we have done. I don't know how this works in other areas of the county. And I am not sure if there are laws in place to make sure that these people who are abusing animals are not also abusing the people near them.

So I am curious about what to do as well.

Jess

[Barrie]

If I were going to take on this project I would start at the county Animal Control office to see what is being done there. No point in duplicating what they do, then take it from there. Barrie

Hello fellow waccos,

I rarely post, so when I do you know that it's important to me ...

Over a year ago a tenant of mine "removed" one of my cats from my home. He didn't like him or me, not sure which, but the poor cat paid the price. He could have been dumped in the wild, murdered, or downright stolen. Though I've been searching for him for over a year, I have not found him. He's a large timid orange tabby cat with gold eyes just in case you've noticed one hiding on your property.

But I'm not writing about poor Mac ... hopefully someone kind took him in and he's happy and comfortable. I'm writing because during these many months of searching and saving other cats that I find, I've run across repeated instances and stories of animal abuse.

I spent my day off last weekend trying to trap a cat in the town of Sonoma because someone was poisoning the animals there. Before that, someone was trapping all of the ferals ( who were receiving excellent care without negative consequences to anyone ) and removing them in the same neighborhood.

Then there was the shooting of the cat in Graton. Today I received an email about a dog shot in San Francisco. A friend of mine saved a cat who had lost one eye because someone threw acid on him. I heard a story yesterday about a horse who will have to be euthanized because of severe infection, the owner just ignored it ... and it goes on and on ...

I'm wanting to publicly gather support for the publicizing and enforcement of animal abuse laws but I don't know how to do it ... I'd also like to promote a public file of animal abusers and where they live so that the public can be informed ... like child abusers, this info needs to be out in the open somehow ...

If you can think of any way to get started on this then please let me know ... I haven't got a clue ...

[The Moose]

This link may be helpful (you might want to talk to SFGate about contacts that provide the information):

https://articles.sfgate.com/keyword/animal-cruelty

Also, starting a simple database, for example MS Access or FileMaker that can be easily adapted to the Web, would give organizations that house/adopt out pets easy access to information that everyone would be able to access/modify/add to via a web portal. There are other applications out there, but I've used this one before for similar types of applications. You would need someone to set you up on the web-a consultant with this type of experience. I wouldn't try to do it yourself, trust me, I tried with manuals, and Technical Support, etc. Once we got a good consultant to take over it was a matter of a month or so before we were up and running. Depending on how fancy you want to get, this would cost you in the neighborhood of $5K counting the server that would house your data, software and the consulting costs. Good luck. I have the name of a good consultant if you are interested.

Hello fellow waccos,

I rarely post, so when I do you know that it's important to me ...

Over a year ago a tenant of mine "removed" one of my cats from my home. He didn't like him or me, not sure which, but the poor cat paid the price. He could have been dumped in the wild, murdered, or downright stolen. Though I've been searching for him for over a year, I have not found him. He's a large timid orange tabby cat with gold eyes just in case you've noticed one hiding on your property.

But I'm not writing about poor Mac ... hopefully someone kind took him in and he's happy and comfortable. I'm writing because during these many months of searching and saving other cats that I find, I've run across repeated instances and stories of animal abuse.

I spent my day off last weekend trying to trap a cat in the town of Sonoma because someone was poisoning the animals there. Before that, someone was trapping all of the ferals ( who were receiving excellent care without negative consequences to anyone ) and removing them in the same neighborhood.

Then there was the shooting of the cat in Graton. Today I received an email about a dog shot in San Francisco. A friend of mine saved a cat who had lost one eye because someone threw acid on him. I heard a story yesterday about a horse who will have to be euthanized because of severe infection, the owner just ignored it ... and it goes on and on ...

I'm wanting to publicly gather support for the publicizing and enforcement of animal abuse laws but I don't know how to do it ... I'd also like to promote a public file of animal abusers and where they live so that the public can be informed ... like child abusers, this info needs to be out in the open somehow ...

If you can think of any way to get started on this then please let me know ... I haven't got a clue ...

[The Moose]

My advice was more of a technical nature and of how to go about it tacitus, I wasn't giving Dian any advice on what type of animal abuse she should include in her database. I just want to make that clear. It's all up to the standards of the person administering the database. I make no jugement either way.

Before you follow the advice The Moose offers, look around. There are thousands of websites on stopping animal abuse. Abuse is a rather open ended term that ranges from dressing your dog up and going to the mall through the three to four million adoptable dogs and cats killed in our country's shelters (half a million in California alone) through crush videos and vivisection into flesh eating and factory farming. What is it you're interested in see stopped?

[arthunter]

Thank you all for your responses ...

Because of my ongoing efforts to rescue abandoned cats in the county, I am often in contact with Robert Garcia at the county shelter. My feelings about this facility are mixed... to be brief, they are doing their best but they are overwhelmed, especially now with the economic climate forcing many people to abandon their pets. If you can take another pet into your home then please do so. The situation is dire, ... they simply don't have the room to house all of these animals ... and the same is true throughout the county at other shelters and rescue organizations. The kittens go to pet stores, etc. and they are the least stressed at the shelters, but the older animals need immediate help because they do face euthanasia and long term stress if they are not adopted.

That being said, in my opinion, there is a genuine concern for animals at the county shelter and Robert Garcia seems like a caring person who has helped me on several occasions with difficult situations. But they are bound by rules which prevent them from acting in cases of animal abuse ... rules which are in place to protect the shelter from law suits. They can only act when there is clear, verifiable proof of animal abuse and, as we all know, most animal abuse occurs secretly, when no one is watching.

I favor some kind of public warning system. A sign which is weatherproof and which cannot be removed easily ... something like " WARNING - Animal Abuse Has Occurred Here – Please Protect Your Pets - Witnesses Please Go Here " with the date and a reference to a web address for more information and to record sightings. I feel that publicity is the only way to bring the problem to light and to warn residents of the dangers that surround them. Hopefully, it would also act as a deterrent ... proof that we, as a community, care about our animals ... and that we're watching...

As to what constitutes animal abuse? ... all of the above !!! ... including all forms of stealing, maiming, killing, torturing, terrorizing or inflicting any damage at all to healthy animals. In my mind this is about respect for our natural world and it affects our whole existence ( we are all connected), ... simply stated our human problems of power ( and powerlessness ) should not be solved at the expense of innocent creatures whether they be cats, dogs, or children. A nuisance animal can be dealt with in other ways. Animal Control and Forgotten Felines can help remove strays, etc.


(Perhaps some free counseling could help these sad human beings who abuse animals to cope with their dilemmas, but that's a much larger, more complex discussion ...)

Yes, we do have to kill animals ... we eat them, we must protect ourselves from them when they are dangerous, there are mercy killings, and the shelter could not possibly house all of the feral and un-adoptable cats which are brought in. I am told that the shelter is now working with Forgotten Felines to place the feral cats in established feral cat colonies, so there is progress ...

I welcome contact with Sonoma People for Animal Rights and urge others to join such an organization. As usual, things get done when enough people get together with the intention of getting them done. So let's get going on it ... I would certainly attend a monthly meeting in hopes of solving this problem ...

I already have a web presence aimed at identifying and cataloging the stray pet population in Sonoma County and I will be using the radio show of my friend, Ken Rose, to publicize these problems in the near future, ... but I'm just one person and working hard to keep my own head above water at this difficult time. Please write to me if you can help in any way.

Thank You!