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Following disturbing video footage posted on YouTube showing workers at the Clayton County Animal Control shelter being extremely abusive to animals, county officials claimed they were investigating. The footage includes one worker angrily shouting at dogs in kennels and dragging and hoisting a dog off the ground by a harness or the skin of his or her back before hurling the animal into a kennel. A second worker is seen dragging a terrified, cowering dog across the floor by his or her neck with a leash (during this dragging, one of the dog’s paws appears to become caught under a heavy door, which would surely have been painful and likely to cause an injury). The county has not yet confirmed that the workers shown in the footage have been removed from positions that place them in contact with animals. Please demand confirmation that the workers have been dismissed or permanently reassigned to duties that prohibit them from having contact with animals.
The individuals in the footage may have also violated Georgia’s cruelty-to-animals law which was established to protect animals from the kind of abuse captured by surveillance footage. Violations of this law are criminal offenses. A thorough investigation into their conduct and actions should include review of any past video footage captured while they were on duty and charges must be considered.
Animals in impoundment and sheltering situations are typically frightened, nervous, and anxious, and many have already survived neglect and cruel treatment prior to arriving at a facility. The public rightly expects that staff at a taxpayer-funded facility will be properly trained, competent, compassionate, and skilled in basic humane animal handling methods and that animals will be protected from harm. Workers who fail to demonstrate that they can act professionally and with kindness toward animals should not have contact with any animals in the county’s custody.
Please contact elected officials today and demand that they remove the workers shown on video abusing animals at the publicly funded shelter. Criminal charges must also be considered.