Monthly Archives: February 2013

New Jersey– enforce the mandatory 7-day holding period for stray animals. What would you do if your pet got loose and was killed by the pound before you could be reunited?

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In New Jersey, stray animals must be held for at least seven days before they can be killed or offered for adoption.  N.J.S.A. 4:19-15.16.  The so-called seven-day holding period for gives families the opportunity to reclaim lost pets. It also protects animals from being needlessly killed by municipalities, pounds and shelters that do not want to be bothered with, or feel they do not have the time or space for, a stray animal.

Unfortunately — despite the fact that the mandate is a requirement of state law– the seven-day holding period in New Jersey is too-often ignored.  There are numerous cases in which an animal is picked up and is killed before seven days, sometimes the same day as it was captured.  Whether the license tag or name tag fell off, or the pet was abandoned, these animals often get killed in violation of law.

Moreover, efforts to encourage municipalities, pounds and shelters to follow the law often fall on deaf ears.   And the State Department of Health has not taken action to actively enforce the seven-day holding period.

The law is the law, and government officials and regulated entities and individuals alike are obligated to follow the law.

Moreover, the law is based on sound policy.  Families deserve the opportunity to reclaim lost pets: what would you do if your dog or cat got out of the house, was picked up by animal control, and killed before you could be reunited?

New Jersey needs to enforce the mandatory 7-day holding period for stray animals.

That means that animal control officers, health department officers, and pound and shelter officers need to comply with the law.  And municipalities and the State Department of Health need to enforce the law’s requirements.

People who break the law should be prosecuted.  There’s no excuse for the needless killing of an animal.

NJSPCA dereliction of duty: after four years of inaction, Court orders NJSPCA to act within 60 days.

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After four years of inaction by the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on requests from three dozen volunteers that want to combat anti-animal cruelty, the New Jersey Superior Court this week ordered the NJSPCA to adopt procedures within 60 days to evaluate such requests.

The NJSPCA’s official response to the Order that concluded the law suit against it: we had planned to act anyway!

Wake up and smell the coffee burning!

Saying that you couldn’t figure out how to start reviewing applications for four years – when state statute requires you to assist interested persons to form local SPCA chapters  — is dereliction of duty, plain and simple.

The NJSPCA needs to stop acting like a bunch of good old boys that cares only about turf, vehicles with flashing lights, and what fee revenue it can generate.

Let people in their own communities fight animal cruelty!

And don’t say you were planning to act… Do it!  Approve the applications now!

See Times of Trenton “NJSPCA agrees to speed up process of creating local charters”

Court orders NJSPCA to adopt procedures to review county applications and complete application review within 60 days.

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Yesterday, the New Jersey Superior Court ordered the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to adopt procedures within 60 days for the evaluation of applications for county SPCA societies.  Applications have been pending for County Societies in Camden, Ocean and Mercer Counties for four years without the NJSPCA acting upon them or adopting procedures to review the applications.

State statute establishes the NJSPCA as a statewide entity and provides for the formation of County SPCA Chapters.  The statute provides that a County Society may be formed where there are at least ten interested individuals, but does not specify the process for the granting of the charter.  The statute further mandates that the NJSPCA “shall assist persons in counties without a chartered county society to obtain a charter.”

Plaintiff, Jane Donohue, a former NJSPCA law enforcement officer with ten years’ experience in the southern New Jersey region, said the NJSPCA never adopted a process and never provided any assistance as required by the statute: “Every time we asked about the status of the applications, we were told they were working on it.”  Last year, Plaintiffs gave up waiting for the NJSPCA, and filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court alleging the NJSPCA had violated the statute.  In court papers filed during the lawsuit, the NJSPCA argued that it needed time to come up with procedures to review applications. The matter was called for trial yesterday.  At the time of trial, the NJSPCA still had not adopted procedures.

The Court established strict time frames for the adoption of procedures and completion of the process.  From the bench the Judge stated, once the NJSPCA adopts procedures, Plaintiffs may file applications pursuant to the procedures adopted, and no later than 60 days after submission of an application, the NJSPCA shall act on the application.  The Court further ordered that if the NJSPCA denies an application, it shall set forth the reasons for the denial, and set forth what remedial steps, if any, would correct the deficiencies.

Plaintiff, John Micklewright, a certified Animal Cruelty Investigator active in Camden County with over fifteen years of experience in the animal field, said “It’s a travesty for animals and the public interest that the NJSPCA board introduced and approved county charters for friends at a single meeting in December 2007, but when individuals not hand-picked by them applied for charters in 2008, the NJSPCA board suddenly declared a need to form a committee to establish procedures to review charter applications, and four years later has not even adopted procedures to review these applications.”

Plaintiff, Kristine Schmidt, a member of Pet Rescue of Mercer for over ten years, said, “At least now we have a mandate that the NJSPCA take action, and do so by specified dates.  Three dozen people have been trying to volunteer to help animals; it’s high time the NJSPCA let them.”