Illegal Animal Seizure
How to prevent or deal with "animal cruelty" confiscation by animal control and animal rights terrorists.
YOUR DOG’S BEST FRIEND MAY BE HIS ATTORNEY
by Diane Amble,
We The People USA
Warrantless seizures plague animal owners! If contacted by animal control authorities SEEK LEGAL COUNSEL IMMEDIATELY to prevent illegal confiscation and impoundment.
In fact, you may want to find a good
attorney now. Why?” you ask. The answer is by the time
the knock comes at your door, it may be too late to protect
your animals and prevent them from being seized. Often
times, seizure of animals results in the injury and death of
the animals by the same authorities that claim to be
"rescuing" said animals.
Once
your animals are seized they will be subjected to stress and
disease if not outright abuse and even death at the hands of
callous animal control workers or overzealous animal
"rescuers". Do you have an elderly dog or a litter of tiny
kittens? How do you think they will fare at the pound where
disease is usually rampant and the stress of impoundment may
very well make your dog more susceptible to disease. Will
your dog be able to handle an attack by another dog as they
are often thrown in together in a kennel regardless of age
or size?
Too many
believe that the law protects their rights and their
property as we were taught in Civics and Government class in
middle school.
Too many
believe that because they provide optimal care for their
animals and live in a nice neighborhood or a rural
countryside that they will never be subjected to the onerous
raids one hears about. "Those people" you assume did not
properly care for their animals. We are told "those people"
are hoarders.
The
reality is that even people with four animals have been
labeled "hoarders" by rogue raiders. Once they release often
contrived raid details to the press, you will be presumed
guilty by the media and the public.
Trying Your Animal Abuse, Limit Laws, or Hoarding Case:
You
assume you will prevail in a court of law. That may be the
case if you have deep pockets to appeal in a court of law.
However, like child protective cases, most animal cases are
heard by your accusers, in a private hearing within the
animal control department without the legal protections
provided in a courtroom setting. The reality is often that
the animal control agency alone is the judge, jury and
executioner - literally.
If you
are lucky enough to have your case heard in front of a
magistrate, chances are they will take the word of the
officers over yours and they nearly always know nothing
about animal care and its intricacies.
If you
have children, child protective services will be contacted
and without warning they will appear. You may have to fight
two fronts: allegations by animal control and allegations
from child protective services. And in both cases, your
animals and your children may be seized immediately. You may
be taken to jail and have to post bond in order to be
released to begin your defense of what often amounts to
“guilty until proven innocent."
Often
another agency is also used to levy fines and put obstacles
in your case: code enforcement. In some locales these
officers now even legally carry guns! They will often
declare your property condemned simply due to "blight",
refuse or even "odor". You may be forced to leave your own
property under their authority.
If your
home is a mess, or maybe you are "hoarding" too many
recyclables, they may contact Mental Health Services and you
may be placed under evaluation (hospitalized) due to their
perception of your inability to care properly for yourself.
This is not uncommon is cases where the person is elderly.
You will
be billed for each of these services.
Fines, Fees, and Court Costs of Illegal Animal Seizures:
In fact,
many people cannot retrieve their animals due to the high
cost of per diem exacted by animal services along with
exorbitant veterinary fees. Code enforcement may charge $200
per hour to evaluate and re-inspect you monthly on
violations and repairs. They can place a lien on your home.
In some areas, just breeding animals for consumption is
deemed "illegal agricultural activities" and fines can be as
high as $1000.00 per day.
Are you
now asking yourself if all these seizures or fines are
legal? Most are not but that does not stop them from
happening. In fact, animal officer training includes
instruction on ways "around the law" based on drug seizure
precedent cases. Sure "those people" are the "bad guys
dealing drugs to the neighborhood" but law enforcement is
now teaching and applying the same interpretations to animal
seizures.
Just as
in cases where rogue narcotics officers place incriminating
evidence in the alleged criminal's car or home, so may an
overzealous animal officer kick over a water bowl, tighten a
chain, or even flood your barn to prove animal abuse or
neglect. If a pet is placed in a carrier and set out in the
heat of the day for hours, how will your precious pampered
pet look once they finally arrive at the animal control
facility for veterinary examination? Your pet may be near
death at that point. How can you prove your pet's condition
was due to mistreatment following the seizure rather than
your poor care?
At this
point, most of us would be shouting out the Declaration of
Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that
all men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among
these are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness
or
reciting the Constitution! Are you prepared to hire a
Constitutional attorney to uphold your rights under the law?
U.S. CONSTITUTION – Amendment 5. Self-Incrimination; Double
Jeopardy; Due process.
“No person shall…be deprived of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law; nor shall private property be
taken for public use, without just compensation."
California Penal Code § 1548(d):
“Laws of
the United States” means (1) those laws of the United States
passed by Congress pursuant to authority given to Congress
by the Constitution of the United States where the laws of
the United States are controlling, and (2) those laws of the
United States not controlling the several states of the
United States but which are not in conflict with the
provisions of this chapter. CONGRESS makes laws, NOT
counties, cities, code enforcement, or dog-catchers.
Yet, we
are aware of countless ordinances that subject animal owners
to excessive fees, which are really taxes, and unreasonable
stipulations along with arbitrary and often ridiculous
numbers; 4 dogs, 3 cats, 1 chicken, no roosters! Such
ordinances are based on a whim or the agenda of animal
rights fanatics with unrestrained, autocratic use of
authority by elected or hired personnel or merely appointed
commissions or agencies!
Where
will it stop? Will such illegal agencies soon tell us how
many acres we can own? How many cattle we can have? How many
pairs of shoes? How about how many children you can have?
Sound incredulous? Well, in China it is not only a reality
but a living nightmare from which you cannot awaken.
In the
state of California not one case has been won that resulted
in all animals returned to the owner. This is also true
across the United States. The only two cases that were
successfully won with all animals returned were in South
Dakota. Cases have been won, but too late. The animals were
destroyed, sold for profit, disappeared, or the SPCA refused
to return the animals.
You see
it on the news every day: "The poor animals were too ill
and had to be destroyed". The favorite of the six o'clock
news is "The hoarder had very unsanitary conditions so the
house had to be condemned and bulldozed'. "Restitution was
ordered by the judge to be paid to the SPCA/Animal Control".
What they don't tell you is, a six digit figure was awarded
to the SPCA/Animal Control, who promptly placed a lien on
the Home & Property. The owner was sent to jail so they
couldn't fight them.
Can't
believe it could happen to you? Stay tuned - we have
hundreds of cases from California and across the nation.
Not one state is immune. In Part II, we will discuss how
you may be able to prevent any seizure and minimize fines by
being pro-active.
References:
2008 - 2009
Significant Animal Law Cases. Author Rebecca F. Wisch Animal
Legal & Historical Michigan State University College of Law
WARRANTLESS
SEIZURE PROVISION OF ANIMAL CRUELTY STATUTE CONSTITUTIONAL.
Author Julie Fothergill, Attorney, VLCT Municipal Assistance
Center VLCT News, May 2004
California
Criminal Animal Protection Laws by Alison Schiebelhut;
George Washington University (GWU) Law School’s Animal
Welfare Project 2008
California
Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Law Handbook (Penal Code
11164-11174.3)
Code
Enforcement Unit inspections temporarily suspended by Jessie
Faulkner/The Time-Standard April 9, 2008
Police
Shooting Pets by Pamela L. Roudebush Animal Legal and
Historical Center, 2002 Michigan State University College of
Law
For the net's first
documentation of illegal seizures and impoundment, go to
Terrorists INDEX
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