From the Rose Law Group Growlery
By Phil Riske | Managing Editor
If you want to make me red-faced angry, tell me about my pet peeve — animal abuse.
The past week’s news has included several stories about animal regulations that are worth a review.
No charges were filed when state regulators decided they could do nothing to prevent a veterinarian at a no-kill shelter who euthanized dozens of kittens based on potentially faulty test results regarding feline leukemia —even after secondary tests showed not all the animals had the disease.
The Arizona State Veterinary Medical Examining Board said state law prevented it from taking action based its decision an exemption in state law that permits pet owners to treat their animals as they see fit.
The board decided the vet was not subject to the Veterinary Practices Act because she was acting as an employee of 4 Paws, which owned the animals in its care.
Once again, lawmakers leave loopholes in regulations through which unintended consequences creep, including the deaths of scores of healthy kittens and a kill rate out of control.
County animal care
Maricopa County Animal Care and Control has come under fire for its care after it received an e-mail about a dog, nicknamed Spirit, that had developed a blot clot around a spay incision.
After volunteers alerted the county’s on-call veterinarian, they said they were instructed to wrap the animal in a blanket and return it to its kennel until the next morning, news reports said. Instead, they rushed the dog to an emergency clinic, where it was treated and saved.
Volunteers also told of a dog shot by police that was left untreated for several days at the shelter with a bullet in its head.
Llama freedom
The Sun City llama escape artists known as Kahkneeta and Laney are banned from making public appearances by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. What?
The black and white llama duo were lassoed after a nearly two-hour chase last month and became national stars.
But USDA officials said the llamas owners Bub Bullis and Karen Freund lacked the proper permits to show the animals off at public events, thwarting any future celebrity appearances.
“They just totally destroyed everything I had planned for my retirement,” Freund told the Associated Press. “We’ve taken them to schools before. Now they’re telling me I can’t do anything, even like a photo shoot.”
Some good news
Exercising his first veto ever, Gov. Doug Ducey has killed legislation foes said would protect those who abuse farm animals from the same punishment as anyone who harmed a house pet.
“I know we all agree that animal cruelty is inexcusable, unacceptable and absolutely will not be tolerated in the state of Arizona,” Ducey wrote to lawmakers in his veto message.
He acknowledged the bill does plug some loopholes in existing cruelty laws, such as making it a crime to “hoard” animals.
