Suit Seeks to Change City Rules on Killing Animals

Charging that prospective pets are killed unnecessarily in Los Angeles shelters, a Canoga Park man and an animal activist organization have filed suit seeking changes in city procedures on when animals can be destroyed.

Jay Tell had sought to adopt a stray dog he turned into the city Department of Animal Regulation’s West Valley Shelter in Chatsworth last year, but found it was destroyed before he could do so, according to a Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit. Tell filed the suit along with Ark Trust, an animal rights organization. Tell said he was not seeking monetary damages, but rather procedural safeguards to prevent what he called “either accidental or intentional killing.”

Robert Rush, general manager of the Department of Animal Regulation, said he had not seen the suit and could not comment on it. But he said the department has a policy that “works well” for citizens who turn in a stray animal and request first rights to adopt it.