Henderson County Animal Services Reform

To the Henderson County Board of Commissioners and the Henderson County Animal Services Management:

We, the taxpayers and voters, demand immediate changes at the Henderson County Animal Services (HCAS) facility. You have been made aware of serious concerns affecting public health and safety, and the welfare of the animals that the HCAS facility is entrusted to care for. These serious concerns have been discussed with the staff, management and commissioners resulting in a few small, insignificant changes.

In April 2006, the new 1.5 million dollar Henderson County Animal Services (HCAS) building was dedicated. We, the taxpayers and voters, were promised the County would move forward with improved animals services, increased adoptions, better care for the animals, public education, volunteer programs and a focus on spay-neuter. However, eighteen months later, we have a brand new shelter that serves merely as a facade of change, while the attitudes about animal welfare that existed at the old shelter, built in 1965, persist. HCAS is clearly interested in “animal control”, consisting of accepting animals into the shelter, putting them up for adoption merely to satisfy a required hold period, and then destroying them once the animal’s hold time has run out. HCAS refuses to bring in new animal welfare practices, philosophies or staff that think about animal care and welfare as well as animal control. THIS OLD ATTITUDE IS UNACCEPTABLE.

We urge:

1. Hiring a qualified, progressive Animal Services Director with at least five years animal sheltering experience and a demonstrated track record of success for both animal control and animal care.

2. Immediately placing the Animal Services Committee in charge of documenting issues at the shelter and putting action plans in place with targeted completion dates.

3. Immediate reinstatement of the privileges of rescue groups to transfer animals scheduled to be destroyed, out of the shelter and into foster / adoptive homes.

4. Adoption of an existing Volunteer Standard Operating Procedures from other shelters to get volunteers back into the shelter. These can be amended by the Animal Services Committee.

We, the undersigned, urge you our elected officials to take public action. As taxpayers and concerned citizens, we expect to see meaningful change regarding these issues no later than the end of January, 2008. We look forward to a continued dialogue with you and your staff in our ongoing effort to fulfill the original vision of a humane and progressive facility serving the wellbeing and welfare of all those living in our community.