Welcome!

[Anne]

Hello all and welcome to the Ask Animal Control expert forum. I want to start by personally thanking Mark for agreeing to host this forum.

And now here's a wonderful intorduction to the forum, put together by our moderator Heidi -

Welcome to the Ask Animal Control forum! This forum is graciously hosted by Mark Kumpf, president of Virginia Animal Control.

Mark has been involved in an official capacity with Animal Control for 13 years.

The goals of every animal rescue organization, including Animal Control (AC), and individual rescuer is the same – to place as many unwanted companion animals into good, caring homes as possible. The methods are different, but the goal is the same. The people who work at AC facilities care for animals as much as any other rescuer. However, private and individual rescuers and the local government controlled AC are sometimes at odds, and find it very difficult to come to common ground.

The goal of this forum is to assist us all to understand the positions of AC, how they work with the laws of the land, and how their procedures are carried out. Only with understanding from both sides will strides be made to improve situations, change procedures and perhaps one day rescuers and AC will work side by side toward the same common goals.

In order for Mark to be able to answer your questions, please be sure to include your town and state within your posts. This will enable him to look up any laws and ordinances pertaining to your particular questions.

As a gentle reminder, we are all very passionate about the animals that we work with. There will be some heated discussions, to be sure, but any personal vendettas, slams, flames or insults will not be tolerated.

 

[tuxedokitties]

I'd like to thank you for being here for questions.

It's a tough job to work in animal control or rescue in any capacity, and I thank you and other animal control workers for your courage and perseverance in doing what you can to help the animals.

Regards,
Tess

 

[tnr1]

Thanks for taking the time to answer questions. Now I'm off to post this opportunity on the Petfinders Forums. I'm sure there are several regulars on those forums that would appreciate this chance to ask questions.

Katie

 

[mark kumpf]

Oh boy, glad I looked or I would have been a day late in replying to these posts! For the purposes of my replies, I want to let everyone know a few things.

A little bit about me. I have been in animal protection since 1989. I have a bachelor's degree in political science and a minor in English literature. I currently serve as the President for the Virginia Animal Control Association, the Secretary/Treasurer for the National Association, advisor to the Western Australian Rangers Association Executive Committee and a board member of Tidewater Humane, Inc. (a local spay/neuter group). I have reviewed and assisted with drafting animal laws in Virginia, the continental US and Hawaii. I have also offered advice to Western Australia. I serve on too many committees to list and do teach nationwide and abroad. I was named 1995 ACO of the year in Virginia and 2001 International ACO of the year by the Western Australian Rangers Association. Enough of the horn blowing. Just wanted to give an idea that sometimes I do know something about animal stuff.

I am NOT interested in reporting you or anything related to these questions to any other jurisdiction. They can read them but unless you identify yourself in a manner that makes it easy to find your exact house, I doubt any agency will go to the trouble of trying to subpoena records from a website whose primary operator is out of the continental US. To all the paranoid ones, my bet is you're safe here.

I will answer questions but please remember, these are opinions, not legal advice. If you get in trouble for taking statements here at face value, its your issue. I am NOT an attorney, I do not charge for these answers, I offer no warranties implied or otherwise!

Laws are subject to interpretation. By the ACO, the attorney, the judge and whoever else gets involved. Your (and my) take on a situation may not be how they look at it. As with any other serious decision, please feel free to GET A SECOND OPINION.

I will review replies in the various threads but unless a specific question arises, may not reply more than a couple of times to the first question.

I don't take much personally. I know that on one hand ACOs are viewed as the dreaded dogcatchers whose IQ is only slightly above that of decorative rocks in the garden. For others, we are the angels that scoop wayward pets out of the street and rush them to a vet after they have fought with a car and lost. Whatever your views on us, the answers here (while sometimes not what you would expect) will be fair and measured. These are my views and do not represent the views of the groups I belong to UNLESS I send you to their respective websites to look at model legislation or policies that they have approved.

 

[wellingtoncats]

Thanks for hosting a forum.

Glad to see you here!

 

[amberthe bobcat]

Thank you Mark for hosting this forum

 

[lotsocats]

Bumping to the top

 

[jcat]

Thank you, Mark, for sacrificing your time (and quite possibly your nerves). I'm sure it will be quite appreciated by everyone here, and I hope that you'll continue to post after this forum has been closed.