Dependable Erection

Thursday, October 14, 2010

A small, but necessary, step in the right direction

From my old stomping grounds. Is this even on our Durham Board of County Commissioners' radar?
Suffolk County, on the eastern half of Long Island, moved to create the nation's first animal abuse registry this week, requiring people convicted of cruelty to animals to register or face jail time and fines.

"We know there is a very strong correlation between animal abuse and domestic violence," said Suffolk County legislator Jon Cooper, the bill's sponsor. "Almost every serial killer starts out by torturing animals, so in a strange sense we could end up protecting the lives of people."

There's no immediate benefit to Durham County coffers, so i can't see the clown show making an effort in this direction. But don't you think that improving the quality of life in the county will have more long term benefit than shitty development that may very well end up vacant in 15 years?

Suffolk county also, about 5 years ago, responded to the first known cases of rabies in the wild with an aggressive program to eradicate the disease by providing oral vaccines in salt licks in the area where the outbreak occurred. Here in Durham, where rabies is endemic in our raccoon and fox populations, the county's preferred solution is to tell you to avoid contact with wild animals, and where rubber gloves when disposing of any carcasses you find on your property.

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6 Comments:

  • Good idea. But how many people in Durham County have been convicted of cruelty to animals lately?

    Speaking of the BOCC, the only way someone's going to knock Bowser out in '12 is if his name is...BARRY! Slogan:"Vote for Barry, and then Vote for Barry!"

    By Blogger toastie, at 4:28 PM  

  • You're barking up the wrong tree.

    By Blogger Barry, at 4:31 PM  

  • Speaking of rabies, did you hear that a stray cat was found to be infected with rabies in Durham this week?

    http://blogs.newsobserver.com/bullseye/health-department-warns-about-rabid-cat

    By Blogger Steve Graff, at 6:07 PM  

  • Nope, missed that. But it's totally not surprising.

    Only about 35% of all domestic pets are registered with the county. I can't imagine that rabies vaccination rates are much higher.

    By Blogger Barry, at 6:11 PM  

  • this is cute. I told Animal Control that a guy who had 8 puppies die over the course of four days was neglecting them and that they were not registered.

    They replied that they saw no signs of abuse/neglect and that registration is a tax matter, not an animal control matter.

    By Blogger Natalie, at 11:07 AM  

  • I try to assign the blame to the Commissioners, who make the funding decisions for our AC department, and, theoretically, provide guidance as to what sections of the code get priority in enforcement.

    but many of my immediate dealings with the AC department, sadly, match up with yours.

    Yes, the county shifted responsibility for registration to the tax people, since trying to keep up with that was over-extending the AC department's resources, but you'd think that AC officers would be empowered to check on an animal's registration (i think puppies have to be registered at 6 Months?) and be encouraged to notify the tax people when they encounter unregistered animals, and also to act if they find an unregistered animal with no proof of rabies vaccination.

    We're only one step away for a serious rabies problem in Durham.

    By Blogger Barry, at 11:18 AM  

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