Animal Services Chief Hired

Over the vocal objections of animal rights activists, the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the appointment of a Maryland civil servant to head the city’s beleaguered Animal Services Department.

Guerdon H. Stuckey will take over a department that has been the target of an impassioned campaign by activists to halt the city’s euthanizing of animals not adopted from city shelters.

Both Mayor James K. Hahn and Stuckey have said they plan to phase out the practice. In 2002, the city killed more than 34,000 animals.

But activists turned out in force for the council meeting, many of them complaining that Stuckey’s lack of experience in animal services makes him a poor choice. “This is not the time for on-the-job training,” said Bill Dyer of In Defense of Animals.

Animal rights activists helped drive out the city’s last director of animal services, whose home was vandalized and whose car was painted with the word “murderer.”

Deputy Mayor Doane Liu told the council that the search committee that recommended Stuckey was looking for a general manager who had strong leadership skills. That effort was headed by Madeline Bernstein, president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ Los Angeles chapter.

Stuckey, 49, acknowledged his lack of background in animal services, but he pledged to reach out to the community. “What I bring to the table is a fresh perspective,” he said.

The mayor’s office has proposed an annual salary of $151,986 for Stuckey.