I, ______________________, feel that Burke County needs animal control. There are literally thousands of dogs and cats suffering and dying each year because there is no funding or ordinances in place by government officials to help them.
My vote for a commissioner in my district will be affected by the candidate’s stance on this matter.
Most other counties in Georgia have animal control including a shelter. Some counties also have supplemental financial help for spaying and neutering to alleviate the overpopulation crisis.
By signing this letter, I am stating that I would like the county to evaluate means to afford a shelter such as money from SPLOST or tied up in other programs that are not being utilized. If this cannot be done, I wouldn’t mind having my taxes increased to afford personnel to obtain stray animals and provide them a safe place to go and then have the option to be adopted or reclaimed. If they are not reclaimed or adopted after the legal allotted time, then they are to be afforded a humane death. Humane death equates to an injection with a sedative. After the animal is totally sedated, a fatal injection can then be given in the vein or heart. Gas chambers, gun shots or any other type of euthanasia is not acceptable.
I also would like funding in place for a police officer or an animal control officer to handle animal cruelty calls properly. It is a disgrace that a county our size does not have any form of animal control.
At the present time, the solution is for the abusive owner to “get rid of” the dog or cat. This is not acceptable. If the owner signs to consent that the county of Burke now owns the animal, it won’t be held for long periods of time for court dates, etc which is very costly. If a signature is not given by the owner, then there needs to be a place to take the animal until court proceedings are complete. Either way, the person committing the act of cruelty needs to be punished as stated in Georgia Law Code 16-12-4 Cruelty to animals. There are too many stray and/or abused animals in our county to rely on rescue groups for this. Packs of stray dogs are a major health threat and the county will be held accountable if any citizens or livestock are attacked.
It is unfortunate that euthanasia is the solution for the bulk of the homeless animals in Burke County, but otherwise, there would be a continued population explosion and inhumane deaths would result, i.e. poisoning, starving, and hit by cars. Due to the fact that surrounding counties euthanize approximately 10,000 per year with animal control having been in place for literally decades, I understand that euthanasia is unfortunately necessary to help in alleviating our situation.
Signed: ______________________ Printed Name: ________________________
Date: ___________________________
Street: ___________________________
Town: ___________________________
Zip Code: ___________________________
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