September 22, 2010
LETTER TO SENIOR EDITORS BHAM NEWS
(waiting for reply)
Dear citizens, tax payers, animal lovers:
I am writing this with an urgency that has long passed desperation. I believe that most of you do not know this truth, that you will be shocked and appalled, and I pray that you will moved to take action. One simple thing if done by all of us could bring about incredible changes. I will tell you how.
I must give credit to the many humane organizations and rescue groups in this state that provide outstanding care and compassion for the animals they take in. But many of our “humane organizations” across the state have been put on the “critical condition” list because of their ongoing archaic, outdated, and inhumane practices. Our state is far behind most of the country in how we deal with our overwhelming overpopulation of companion (cats and dogs) animals, a situation that has become even more desperate because of the economy.
It is painfully obvious that no governmental entity will step up to the plate. Efforts by many have made these situations very clear to our governing officials over and over again, but hear only silence in return.
Our only way of changing this is through appropriate legislation and enforcement of that legislation. And education; enlightenment of the depth and desperation these animals face. Most of you are not aware of the truths that I have witnessed first hand as a staff veterinarian at a local facility. The untold numbers of animals brought to the facility in such deplorable condition that there was no hope for them and I had to euthanize them immediately to relieve them of their suffering. This occurred on a daily basis, often several at a time. There is no acceptable reason for such misery to be imposed upon these animals. But it doesn’t stop there.
Animals impounded in these “high kill” facilities are often being ignored, neglected, and confined in small spaces to suffer in silence. Methods of euthanasia, such as gassing (where the animals are sedated and put in a chamber that fills with a toxic gas, killing them by suffocation, are still being used in a number of these facilities. Sick animals are being confined without medical attention, without any attention. I beg you to please take just a little time to access information available to you in much greater detail, starting with this little homemade website:
http://bjcanimalcontroloranimalcruelty.yolasite.com
You will find indisputable evidence of animal cruelty and neglect, indisputable evidence of how these animals are suffering. You will find true stories of just some of what I experienced while employed at one of these facilities.
Your tax dollars are funding one such facility. You are being “duped”, you are being “cheated” by a network of corruption that runs wide and deep in this county. This is the only “for profit” animal control facility in the nation. The financial records are not available to anyone, not even the city council or the county commission. All nonprofits must allow public access to all of their records. All nonprofits struggle daily to keep their efforts financially afloat.
The documentation of animal cruelty mentioned above has been presented over and over again to these governing bodies, as well as the district attorney of Jefferson County, even to the State Attorney General. Very labor intensive efforts have been made, begging for someone, anyone with the power, to do what must be done to improve the quality of care of the animals. All such requests have been ignored. For years. I feel that those that do know about this have given up hope, because they know that all attempts have failed. Let us not give up hope, let us renew the good fight, let’s keep up the good fight, perseverance is the key to success in any venture.
Exposure of corruption across this nation has exploded over the last few years. We are all dealing with frustration, anger, and a sense of impotence as we feel powerless to do anything to stop the abuse propagated by “the powers that be”. But we can fight locally for the well being of our animals. Our best, indeed it seems our only hope is through the efforts of a nonprofit organization established to work diligently to change the laws, to enforce the standards by which animal welfare organizations must live up to. Your voice will be heard. Each voice will be heard, counted, and valued. AVRAL (Association of Voters for Responsible Animal Legislation is dedicated to making the changes I describe above. All you have to do is join, it is free and it is simple. The link to put into your browser is:
http://www.alabamavotesforanimals.org
Why is it so important to join? It is a simple matter of numbers. To accomplish their goals, they need to collect a large numbers of members from the regions that are served by the facilities that are operating below the standards required of animal welfare agencies. These numbers will empower them to bring about the changes we must implement, without voter support, they can do very little.
So those of you in Jefferson County that want to put a stop to paying for animal cruelty and neglect, I plead with you to join, and help bring an end to this nightmare that haunts so many of us. Otherwise I am afraid we must all consider ourselves unwittingly guilty of animal abuse.
Thank you for whatever efforts you can make towards the betterment of life for these precious innocent voiceless creatures.
Virginia Woolverton, DVM
