We Need Laws to Protect the Animals Held at County Animal Shelters

To kill / destroy healthy pets due to lack of space is NOT acceptable but to kill healthy and adoptable pets having space is CRIMINAL. It is not moral or ethical and it should be illegal.

We need the same laws, protocol and regulations for all, because at County level nothing is being done to better this system.  Commissioners and local Legislators look the other way or implement their own ordinances that empower these pounds to continue the unregulated killing of defenseless animals.  Governors pass complaints on this topic back to the Commissioners' offices, who in return pass it back to the Pound Managers and at the end 'No One' is responsible. 

Our taxes are being used and we the tax payers want to state that governmental responsibility is in order for the sake of our communities to include its citizens and  all its animals; therefore governmental responsibility  should be applied to all the animals  while housed at all county pounds.

It is outrageous that tax funded animal pounds called shelters create their own regulations and kill healthy and adoptable cats & dogs, some wait 3 days while others 5 and a few none; this passion to kill has compelled them to kill animals that have owners, that wear tags and that have microchips.

It has become a race against time for rescuers and volunteers who try to save these lost and abandoned pets from their death sentences; death sentences just because they ended up in the county pounds.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/shame-on-us-america

We hear about atrocities being committed at animal services/shelters, such as killings in gas chambers and heart stick procedures.  But also we hear about abuse of power, neglect and cruelty inflicted to the animals at the pounds/services/shelters, just because those harming the animals felt safe within the walls of the pounds.

There is a problem when animals with tags and registrations, such as microchips are being destroyed regardless of their owners attempts to retrieve them.  Excuses from these pounds stating: 'sorry we made a mistake and we fixed the error by firing the employee' or 'sorry the vet tech had mistaken your dog with another' or 'sorry we did not realize that the pet had chip' seem to be on the rise without any consequence or penalty against these pounds.

Where are the laws that regulate governmental tax funded animal pounds called shelters?  Why are there no laws for the animals to defend them against  practices that entail animal cruelty, abuse and neglect?

We need to change the legislative depiction of a pet from what it is now a 'chattel' or moving object to a sentient being.

The Animal Welfare Act (Laboratory Animal Welfare Act of 1966, P.L. 89-544) is the only Federal Law for animal treatment in the United States of America.  This law is meant for each State, it defines procedures with animal dealers, transportation, sales, exhibitors, as well as holding periods not to be less than 5 days to possible reunite lost pets with owners or adopters before selling pets to dealers.