February 2003
Durham, USA - A Durham County Animal Shelter policy that slaps a death sentence on animals that show violent tendencies prompted an extensive e-mail campaign last week demanding a reprieve for Bob, a cat on the shelterâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s death row.
But activistsâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] efforts were in vain - Bob was killed.
Controversy regarding the shelterâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s policy was brought to public attention by Lisa Marie Stephan and a story in The Herald-Sun. Stephan met Bob while visiting the shelter 26th January, 2003, and was interested in adopting him. When she returned the next day, Bob was no longer available for adoption.
Shelter officials said the cat bit a shelter employee in an unprovoked attack. The person needed to be hospitalized and put on antibiotics. It is the shelterâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s policy to kill any animal it considers dangerous or that exhibits aggressive behavior, which can include biting.
Though Stephan was willing to sign a waiver, the shelter could not give her the cat for liability issues, said Durham Animal Protection Society board member Susan Teer.
"Just looking into the facts, would we be doing the right thing to the public if we put this animal out?" Teer said. "Since we knew the attack and we saw it, we didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t think it would be responsible."
Much of the information spread in Stephanâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s e-mail campaign was inaccurate, Teer said.
"The most upsetting part was that weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re trying to do the best that we can, and we have a shelter full of nice animals, that havenâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t bitten anyone, that we canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t place," Teer said. "They need to be put to sleep, but whereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s the public outcry for them? It seems like people were just looking for a poster child."
For the past week, Stephan had been sending e-mails to animal rescue groups around the world seeking assistance. The dozens of responses came from as far away as Australia.
"You have someone here who wants to save the life of this cat, who wants to pamper him with love," wrote Lydia Govelli of Victoria, Australia. "He has done nothing to deserve (death)."
Stephan worked with Silicon Valley Animal Rescue to find a way to grant a stay of execution for Bob. SVAR, a no-kill shelter, took up Stephanâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s case to challenge the ethical reasons behind the Durham shelterâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s policy.
Rebecca Trevino, of the Palo Alto, California based group, hired a lawyer to aid in the process. The group asked to transfer Bob into their care, along with all liability.
"We thought it would be appropriate to respond to (interim director George) Webbâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s concerns," Trevino said.
Such an option would not be feasible, Teer said.
Though liability would be transferred to SVAR, Teer said the shelter was not comfortable with that option if another attack did occur.
"Weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re just trying to be honest," Teer said.
But now that Bob has been killed, Trevino said the organization is considering taking up legal action against the Durham shelter on grounds of animal cruelty.
"In this case, it was not only cruel to kill this animal, it wasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t even necessary," Trevino said.
Durham APS board members met Thursday afternoon to discuss Bobâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s case. Along with four veterinarians and "deep soul-searching," Teer said the board decided the catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s death was appropriate. The APS will not be evaluating its policy, Teer said.
Durham, USA - A Durham County Animal Shelter policy that slaps a death sentence on animals that show violent tendencies prompted an extensive e-mail campaign last week demanding a reprieve for Bob, a cat on the shelterâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s death row.
But activistsâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] efforts were in vain - Bob was killed.
Controversy regarding the shelterâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s policy was brought to public attention by Lisa Marie Stephan and a story in The Herald-Sun. Stephan met Bob while visiting the shelter 26th January, 2003, and was interested in adopting him. When she returned the next day, Bob was no longer available for adoption.
Shelter officials said the cat bit a shelter employee in an unprovoked attack. The person needed to be hospitalized and put on antibiotics. It is the shelterâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s policy to kill any animal it considers dangerous or that exhibits aggressive behavior, which can include biting.
Though Stephan was willing to sign a waiver, the shelter could not give her the cat for liability issues, said Durham Animal Protection Society board member Susan Teer.
"Just looking into the facts, would we be doing the right thing to the public if we put this animal out?" Teer said. "Since we knew the attack and we saw it, we didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t think it would be responsible."
Much of the information spread in Stephanâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s e-mail campaign was inaccurate, Teer said.
"The most upsetting part was that weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re trying to do the best that we can, and we have a shelter full of nice animals, that havenâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t bitten anyone, that we canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t place," Teer said. "They need to be put to sleep, but whereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s the public outcry for them? It seems like people were just looking for a poster child."
For the past week, Stephan had been sending e-mails to animal rescue groups around the world seeking assistance. The dozens of responses came from as far away as Australia.
"You have someone here who wants to save the life of this cat, who wants to pamper him with love," wrote Lydia Govelli of Victoria, Australia. "He has done nothing to deserve (death)."
Stephan worked with Silicon Valley Animal Rescue to find a way to grant a stay of execution for Bob. SVAR, a no-kill shelter, took up Stephanâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s case to challenge the ethical reasons behind the Durham shelterâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s policy.
Rebecca Trevino, of the Palo Alto, California based group, hired a lawyer to aid in the process. The group asked to transfer Bob into their care, along with all liability.
"We thought it would be appropriate to respond to (interim director George) Webbâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s concerns," Trevino said.
Such an option would not be feasible, Teer said.
Though liability would be transferred to SVAR, Teer said the shelter was not comfortable with that option if another attack did occur.
"Weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re just trying to be honest," Teer said.
But now that Bob has been killed, Trevino said the organization is considering taking up legal action against the Durham shelter on grounds of animal cruelty.
"In this case, it was not only cruel to kill this animal, it wasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t even necessary," Trevino said.
Durham APS board members met Thursday afternoon to discuss Bobâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s case. Along with four veterinarians and "deep soul-searching," Teer said the board decided the catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s death was appropriate. The APS will not be evaluating its policy, Teer said.