Of all the reports of abuse, killing and mismanagement at Robeson Co Animal Shelter in NC, this one frustrates me the most. And it’s not even directly about a pet suffering or being killed.
A new policy enacted last month bars members of the public from taking pictures or recording video inside the shelter.
Of course we know why:
Dozens of photos of dead kittens, emaciated dogs and dirty kennels at the shelter have been posted online the past several months.
And naturally, the bureaucrats in charge have an explanation:
Albert Locklear, director of environmental health with the county, said the photos unfairly added to widespread criticism of the shelter.
“I know for a fact there have been a lot of pictures that have went out, that when the average person sees it, it’s not an issue,” Locklear said. “But there are certain folks out there whose hearts are easily moved, I think.”
So in Mr. Locklear’s view, there are certain folks out there whose hearts are so easily moved, it takes nothing more than photographic evidence of shelter pet abuse and death to touch them. But those are not your average people. Average, normal, regular people look at a photo of a dead kitten or a starving dog at the shelter and just don’t see what the fuss is about.
Mr. Locklear, you are sadly out of touch with your community. Here in the south, we may lack the the financial and education advantages some people in other parts of the country enjoy, but we love our pets. We don’t want them to suffer or be killed. And most importantly, the taxpayers of NC pay your salary and own the shelter. So who are you to tell the people in your community that they are uncaring? Who are you to order them not to take pictures of animals at the shelter? This is the people’s shelter. You are but the people’s servant.
Perhaps most infuriating of all:
The policy also set a 15-minute time limit for visitors to browse the kennels for a new pet.
You know what? Screw you. You have no right to tell the people who own the shelter how long they can spend looking for a pet. Never mind that a caring person (which I know you don’t believe any exist in your community) is going to spend more than 15 minutes with a pet after they’ve found a good potential match. Never mind that the first pet an adopter spends time with might not be “the one”. Never mind that the idea behind shelter pet adoptions is to have them stick for life and that no one could possibly expect to achieve that goal in 15 minutes total.
Forget all of that because I say again, you have no right to limit visits from the taxpayers of NC to an arbitrary time. Unless your goal is to decrease adoptions and thus make it appear that you are correct in branding the people of your community as callous. But I sincerely hope that isn’t your intent. I hope you are simply a bunch of misguided stuffed shirts who think they can get away with murder on the taxpayer’s dime. In any case, your days are numbered. Your antiquated ways of thinking are being rejected by communities everywhere. We are a no kill nation of pet lovers. Join us.
It is actually illegal for shelters funded by taxpayers to bar those taxpayers from taking pictures in the shelter. According to the attorney I asked, “they can no more bar you from taking pictures in the shelter than they can bar you from taking pictures in a public park.” She did, however, advise using an unobtrusive camera and keeping it tucked in a pocket when not in use.
So because Mr. Locklear is not moved by photos of criminal neglect and abuse, he assumes that no one else who is “normal” would be, either. I see. Is the whole place run by sociopaths or what?
Yes, they have to many animals that just vanish, without a viable reason.
This shelter is a horror and a nightmare to those of use who are desperately trying to save them!!
i just can’t figure out what the purpose behind the time limit is? Is it so the browsing public won’t get up to Shenanigans?
And how are they even policing that?
I am just dumbfounded. Perhaps I’ll think of a snarky interesting reply but I am so shocked I don’t know what to write.
Why don’t they just admit right out that they see potential adopters and the public as their enemy? Could they be any more hostile towards the only people who can actually HELP them?
People eat up this kind of abuse and even pay for it. Go figure.
I found keychain cameras on Ebay for $10 with free shipping. They take voice and sound and are expandable to 8 gigabytes. I can’t vouch for the distributors though. The resolution isn’t quite megapixel but it is better than the previous generation of small cameras.
These are very “low-key” and look just like car remotes. They recharge from your computer just like MP3 players. I don’t sell them, just letting people know that they are available.
Mr. Locklear’s actions have moved this thing far deeper into the realm of conscious and deliberate evil. This truly is demonic. Sometimes there really is a use for seeing one’s own side as “good” and the other as “evil.”
The demand for pets is so high and the numbers at shelters are low enough that if there is an overcrowded stinking shelter someone contrived for it to be there. There is no excuse at all, this is very deliberate so that they can ask for more legislation. This also tortures people who actually care about the animals. What do you expect? We learn how they are about the animals in personal encounters and in the news. Maybe not all animal control officers are sadists but in any situation where you have one jerk, that jerk tends to dominate.