On Friday, a new animal control law was passed in Hernando
County, Fla., that allows officers to enter private property without a warrant.
It also has provisions that allow dogs and other animals to be shot to death on
site by Animal Services officers.
According to the new ordinance,
"If an Animal Control Authority agent personally witness an animal at
large, the agent shall have the authority to enter upon private property in
pursuit of the animal," without the owner's permission or a warrant.
During earlier revisions of the new animal ordinance, the
legality of the animal control ordinance was questioned
and Hernando County attorney Jon Jouben told
The Tampa Tribune, that the clause that violated federally protected
property rights "was never in the ordinance and couldn't be because the U.S.
Constitution would forbid it."
But Joubin's statement is not supported. The clause that
directly contradicts the 4th
Amendment of the US Constitution remained in the final version of the
ordinance that was approved by Hernando County Commissioners on Friday, in
Brooksville.
Another troubling clause in the new animal ordinance
involves methods of euthanasia. It allows animal control officers "immediate
euthanasia" powers to "destroy" animals "by shooting the
animal or injecting it with a barbiturate drug," pursuant to Fla.
Stat. § 828.05.
This has the potential to be tragically abused by an agency
whose reputation
for animal cruelty and inappropriate
animal killing has been well documented.
While the stated goal of the new law might have been to
improve animal survival rates at the county's high-kill shelter, the details suggest
that is it more likely to achieve the opposite.
Pet owners will no longer be allowed to surrender animals to
the shelter as they did in the past, and the chances for adoption remain slim,
since there is nothing in the ordinance that expands access to impounded
animals through extended or weekend adoption hours.
There are some provisions in the law that provide new
requirements for shelter from weather, as well as stricter rules for spaying
and neutering. However, they will do nothing to save the lives of the
unfortunate animals that are taken by Hernando County Animal Services.
Hernando County's disregard for 4th Amendment rights leaves it
open to lawsuits when residents refuse
to tolerate animal control officers chasing stray animals through their yards. It
should also be noted that Florida's Stand Your Ground Law may also puts human lives at risk. Property owners
might feel threatened by unannounced and unwelcome animal control
officers on their land.
It is unclear how or why Hernando County officials approved this
provision, after admitting publically and in emails that it was illegal.
Click
here to read the entire Hernando County, Florida animal control ordinance.
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