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Humane Society Asked To Reinspect Shelters

Posted on: Monday, 17 January 2005, 15:00 CST

2000 Visit Discovered Neglect and Cruelty

Mayor Martin Chavez has asked the Humane Society of the United States to re-evaluate the city's animal shelters.

The Humane Society is interested but says it can't do the work for about a year. It inspected the shelters in 2000 and found neglect and instances of cruelty.

The mayor has been dealing with the national Humane Society on several issues, including his push for a cockfighting ban in New Mexico and new laws to protect animals from antifreeze poisoning.

The Humane Society sent a team to Albuquerque in May 2000 as part of a lawsuit against the city brought by animal welfare activist Marcy Britton, who alleged cruelty at the two shelters.

The team confirmed Britton's findings and found additional areas of concern, which led then-Mayor Jim Baca to make staff changes and remove the veterinarian.

Chavez had promised in June 2003 that the city would ask the Humane Society back, in part because of complaints that injured animals had been allowed to suffer overnight instead of being euthanized. Meanwhile, his administration has been trying to improve the city's animal services operations.

"A year and a half has been wasted since the mayor's last promise to invite the Humane Society back," Britton said Friday. "We could have already been on their lineup, and now we're going to lose another year when the animals and staff are suffering."

A statement from the Mayor's Office on Friday night said Chavez "has not been wasting time. He has been working with Animal Protection of New Mexico since he came into office in 2001 and because of his impact on national legislation, we hope to improve not only the lives of animals in Albuquerque but the lives of animals everywhere."

The request for an animal-shelter re-evaluation came to light Friday during a news conference on efforts to increase pet adoption and promote spay and neuter programs.

Chavez was flanked at the news conference by officials and activists, including Viki Elkey of Animal Protection of New Mexico. Elkey mentioned the potential animal-shelter evaluation in response to questions.

A letter to Chavez from Kim Intino, who manages an animal services consultation program at the Humane Society, says the organization "has contractual obligations to perform a substantial number of animal shelter evaluations during the course of this year."

City Councilor Eric Griego, a candidate in this year's mayoral race, has been calling for a Humane Society evaluation of the animal shelters.

"Good," Griego said Friday on hearing of the invitation. "It's unfortunate they can't come sooner, given what we've learned about concerns at the shelter. I'm glad the mayor agreed to bring them back. That's all we were asking for."

Griego said he still plans to introduce a resolution asking the Humane Society to return because it calls for the administration and council staff to work together on the scope of the evaluation and when it can begin.

Source: Albuquerque Journal

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