Action Sought Against Animal Control Agency
A citizens coalition is seeking a court order that would force the Los Angeles Department of Animal Regulation to improve what the coalition calls poor care of impounded animals and overuse of euthanasia.
“My 17-year-old blind and deaf dog wandered out of the yard in Studio City at approximately 1:30 p.m., was taken to the East Valley shelter, and was dead by the time I arrived at 3:30 p.m. to pick her up,” one woman said in court papers.
The group contends that there is widespread mismanagement in the department, causing the agency to kill 70% of the animals it impounds.
Animal Regulation spokesman Peter V. Persic said pet owners need to be responsible for tagging and corralling their pets. He added that the agency is so under-funded that it can employ only one veterinarian for the 66,449 animals it handles every year.
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