What do you do when your local animal control does nothing?

Question

Where can you go when your local animal control will do nothing about animals that you know for sure are being mistreated? The reason is because they are friends with the owners and it is a good ole boy community. The humane society in this county doesn't have any power in case someone suggest that.

Answer 1

Are you 100% certain that the animals are considered 'mistreated' by local law?

That's something you'll want to research before you go to much further, your local police department should be able to tell you which laws govern the care of pets in your area.

Many areas have laws that are so lax, that even though the animal is being mistreated, it's not being mistreated according to the local laws- thus, the authorities can't do anything about it..

Where I live now, it's a bit more particular and you can't keep a dog on a chain 24/7. Where I grew up however, it is perfectly legal to have a dog on a ten foot chain in your backyard so long as it's in the shade. To me, keeping a dog on a chain in the mud is mistreatment, but, not according to the law.

My advice would be to find out exactly what the law states in your area and go from there. For instance, if the dogs water bowl is always empty, that's illegal in most areas. But, animal control can't do anything unless they actually find the bowl empty. What you can do, is photograph the conditions on a regular basis if you can do so without illegally accessing the yard. If you can find evidence that they are breaking the law, then you may be able to report that to your local police along with documentation that you reported it to the local animal control and they wouldn't do anything about it..

Most of the time though, the problem is that the local law doesn't cover that level of mistreatment.

Answer 2

http://www.nacanet.org/contactinfo.html

This is the association for them all. They should help you if no one else can. Good luck

Answer 3

If your local police do nothing, which they probably will just refer you to Animal Control. Then you might have to do some home work and figure out who controls Animal Control and go over their heads, keep doing that until you find someone that will do something. If it is Country then go to the State.  I had a prob. with being over billed on a telephone bill, I complained everywhere. I finally contacted my State Representative and eventually got money back.  Keep complaining till you get results.

Answer 4

Call the police. If you are sure that an animal is getting abused, call the police immediately. I hate to tell you this, but even calling the police may not resolve this issue. But it certainly can't hurt. You should do everything in your power to help the animal. Try calling the police. The worst that will happen is they will say "I'm sorry, there is nothing I can do." Its still worth a try! Good luck!