The city of Ellisville in Mississippi does pick up stray pets but doesn’t offer pet adoptions. Instead, it holds the pets in rusted cages inside a small concrete building with just 2 windows and no air conditioning. A quick check of the weather forecast for Ellisville shows temperatures in the 90s this week with humidity this morning at 85%.
If no owner claims the animals after 5 days, they are killed. It’s unclear to me how an owner would find their lost pet at this building since no one actually works there. There is a city employee assigned to feeding, watering and cleaning the facility but that person works in a different department and tends to the animals on the side. The mayor says everything is fine:
[Mayor Tim] Waldrup added the facility is not new, but it’s adequate and it meets all the laws they need to meet. He says animals brought to the facility are humanely euthanized after five days at an area veterinarian if not claimed by the owner and the city pays for a proper burial.
How thoughtful. After keeping the animals in a hellhole for 5 days then killing them, the city “pays for a proper burial” which evokes images of a pet cemetery and floral arrangements. In reality, what the city is paying for is probably dumping the bodies of pets at an area landfill. Ellisville taxpayers must demand better of their elected officials.
(Thank you Arlene for sending me this story.)
OMG. This beats MAS. Ignorant bastards. Date: Mon, 22 Jul 2013 14:00:50 +0000 To: gesmith8@hotmail.com
OMG! These aren’t human beings who create and manage this facility because decent human beings wouldn’t do this or put up with these horrible conditions these animals endure!! Reptilians all of them!!
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20130722/NEWS01/130722019/Ellisville-mayor-elected-president-Mississippi-Municipal-League
Here’s a picture of Mayor Waldrup from the City of Ellisville. He definitely wouldn’t get my vote for anything, I live about 20 miles from Ellisville, and this story is SO DISTURBING to me. I don’t know how the mayor and others associated with this holding facility sleep at night and hold their head up high every day while this atrocity continues each and every day?!!!
I have written to our local tv station, forwarding them a link to this story, asking them to look into this. NO ANIMAL DESERVES TO BE TREATED LIKE THIS!!!
I agree
We heard back from HSUS for Mississippi – QUOTE = ” For all that have heard about the city animal facility in Ellisville, I am working on this. You can help make a difference by contacting your state rep and senator and asking them to sponsor a bill that would provide oversight and minimum standards of care for taxpayer funded animal facilities. They need to hear from YOU! ” – https://www.facebook.com/HSUSMississippi – https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=396208207145743&set=o.104975967266&type=1&theater
I would contact Satan for assistance before contacting HSUS. If there was any opportunity for free publicity and fundraising off it, they MIGHT take action – which would probably amount to seizing all the pets and killing them. But this doesn’t seem like a solid moneymaker to me so I’m guessing they’ll do their usual – nothing.
Checking to see what the state’s minimum housing requirements are. This must violate state cruelty statutes, if there even is any for Mississippi.
In researching this post, I looked up MS state laws and my interpretation was that animal control regulations were left to municipalities. I tried to find any animal ordinances for Ellisville but came up empty.
Yup. Just as I was afraid of, adequate light and air and ambient temperature is apparently NOT a requirement under Mississippi cruelty statutes…
http://asci.uvm.edu/equine/law/cruelty/ms_cruel.htm
Oh the horror. I just can’t comprehend how this can happen. I’m sick.
disgusting. the place and the mindset of the ignorant man who calls himself mayor. Why are adoptions not allowed!?!?!
I’m guessing that if they allowed adoptions, they’d have to staff the place and put up signs and let people in. And then there would really be a lot of complaints.
Reblogged this on Top Cats Roar… and commented:
Many shelters lack regulations that meet any standards for an animal shelter. -Even without regulations, why is the community (and the mayor) accepting this?!? I believe that if the USDA set regulations with registration required so the new ‘Pet Shop’ (animal shelters); we then would see a uniform standard in animal shelters with far less abuse and less killing of animals.
Why leave it up to the state to make laws when there is a USDA (paid with taxpayer money) that can efficiently do the job.
Disclaimer connected to this blog…Things said are of my opinion and the opinion of others…Stay tuned -B
Unfortunately, if the USDA set such standards, they probably would not help much, if their regulations for puppy mills are any indication.
Actually, there is NO WAY the USDA could keep up with inspections of all animal shelters. But that said, any animal shelter should at least be maintained with adequate food water air light and temperature, which I am sure this facility isn’t.
the USDA personnel are too busy going to conventions and seminars put on by the Agribusiness giants to actually perform inspections.
No living being should have to “live” in that place. And the mayor thinks everything is hunkey dorey? Unbelievable.
Anyone on here from that area who has first hand experience?
What can WE do from a distance?
No wonder folks have a bad impression of southern “facilities” . . . even though there must be actual, you know, “shelters”.
This is horrific and the city people need to do something to pressure the mayor to take action! Shame on all of them who are doing nothing!
I’m the editor of a weekly newspaper in the Texas Hill Country. The county seat has 957 residents and the county itself about 22,000. If something like this was happening here, our publication would be on it so fast elected officials’ heads would spin. Why don’t the local newspaper(s) expose these terrible conditions and hold elected officials accountable for their cruelty? What is wrong with them????
“It meets all the laws it needs to meet.” Probably so. I’m so tired of people thinking they are excused for cruel behavior because the law permits it. Legality does not equal morality.
Good point, at one time slavery was legal, beating your wife and kids was legal, child labor was legal. The list is endless, things that were absolutely legal and totally immoral and wrong six ways from Sunday. I can’t imagine what these poor animals go through before they are killed. Heartbreaking and enraging.
I want to know why they hold them 5 days when they don’t allow adoptions. That’s cruelty beyond cruelty. Can people even have a look at the dogs to see if they belong to them, or is this a total one way street?
That’s terrible – is there an email or phone number for people to call?
I don’t know how to start an internet petition but one should be started on this asap!!! shut that place down or make it adequate for the animals…. wtf???
Who can we contact to send a message? Totally unacceptable to treat living things this way, what is wrong with people?
Perhaps it’s time for an email/call campaign? Does anyone have contact list for the mayor, local newspaper, etc.?
OK, I should not have looked at this blog right before going to bed. I know I’m agonna have a nightmare about this pit.
All it would take is a large crowd of people visibly and audibly protesting with these photos on signs in front of Mayor Waldrup’s office to challenge the city’s ‘humane’ standards . . .
What can we do? I’m in NY but tell me what to do!
I appreciate everyone’s compassionate interest in helping the stray pets of Ellisville. It is my sincere belief that it is up to LOCALS to take action and get this unacceptable situation changed. That said, many of you have asked who to contact as an outsider. I am sharing contact info for the city below. Please keep your comments respectful and to the point. One bad apple – i.e. one threat of violence or other inappropriate remark – spoils the whole bunch and paints us all as nutters. They will dismiss the lot of us and the animals will continue to suffer.
The mayor’s name is Tim Waldrup.
http://cityofellisvillems.com/#/contact-us
Ellisville City Hall
110 N. Court Street
Ellisville, MS 39437
(601) 477-3323 Phone
(601) 477-9083 FAX
ellisville@bbimail.net
Come with suggestions and not just complaints. Just getting a handful of volunteers to take those dogs out of those kennels for an hour a day would be a start.
This is disgusting. These are living breathing souls. Please take care of them.
They ought to lock the mayor up in that hellhole for a couple of days and see how he likes it.
Why isn’t the person holding the camera letting these animals out. I would be doing anything i could to break them out and make my self heard. MAKE SOME NOISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And that’s supposed to be a better situation for the animals? That’s definately cruelty to animals! Qick someone donate a air conditioner to the shelter it’s for a good cause and you might be able to take it off of your taxes!
This facility was torn down today. I will see if I can find the link for you.
OMG… that’s great!!!
So far, just a pic on a Facebook page. I understand that there’s supposed to be some kind of news conference tonight. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=546618342063981&set=a.402181259841024.89551.401821683210315&type=1&theater
I wonder where the dogs will be going now?
Wow, that was fast! For people swearing up and down that they’re doing nothing wrong, they sure demolished that building in a hurry.
News story– the city is “out of the dog business for now.” You know they tore it down in a fit of pique, but I think most are just happy to see it gone. http://www.whlt.com/story/22915628/ellisville-animal-holding-facility-torn-down
This so called Mayor needs to wake up. Look into the eyes of these totally innocent & helpless, voiceless animals and how could you backed down without helping them?? OMG have a Heart please. Build another proper facility to accomodate these poor creatures.