Another excerpt from the article:
"Regarding the room where dogs are held as evidence in animal cruelty cases, they reported: Some of the dogs had been held there for up to a year. There were no windows—it was completely enclosed. The stench was bad. ... Many of the dogs looked malnourished." ...
BJC is the designated facility for housing of animals "confiscated" in cases of animal cruelty, by far the most frequent (at least in my experience) are pit bulls that were used for dog fighting. It is true, these dogs must remain at the facility until a decision is rendered by the courts. This takes a very long time, 6 months at the least, often a year or more. Under special circumstances certain animals may be euthanized prior to a final determination of the case is made. This room, the "isolation ward" is kept locked, only kennel and field staff have keys to allow access to the room. This is also the room where sick and injured animals are kept.
The runs are the same as those in the male and female kennels. One third are the long size runs, which I am guessing are approximately 4 feet by 10 feet. Two thirds are half this size.
The dogs are not allowed out of these runs, with few exceptions. They are not provided the opportunity to exercise or to interact with other dogs, and interactions with the humans that work there are very limited. As for the stench, certainly under the circumstances of so many animals housed in one building and never let outside, persistent unpleasant odors are unavoidable. However, in my experience, during times when proper cleaning procedures were being implemented, these odors were kept at a minimum. Without first hand knowledge, I cannot say for sure, but from the way it is described, and from what I know from having once worked at BJC, it is very likely that adherance to proper cleaning protocols had become lax.
FOR FULL COMMENTARY, CLICK:
AT BIRMINGHAM JEFFERSON COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL
LET'S TAKE A STEP BACK IN TIME......
AND MORE FROM THE ARTICLE IN BLACK AND WHITE:
"The first high-profile criticism of the facility surfaced in 2001, when the BJC Animal Control facility was inspected by the National Animal Control Association (NACA), an organization that provides guidelines and training for member agencies on how to humanely capture and house stray animals. The report cited several violations of NACA protocol, the most notable being impounded animals that lacked medical attention; dead animals left in cages; "very poor" sanitation of feline living quarters; animals being euthanized with intercardiac (directly into the heart) injections without first being sedated; and cages being cleaned without dogs being removed first—even when bleach and chemicals were being used. NACA also discovered that animals had been euthanized in the presence of other animals (and in view of visitors on at least one occasion). BJC Animal Control had also failed to verify that euthanized animals were actually dead, according to the report. Shortly after the report was published, BJC Animal Control director Steve Smith claimed that he had implemented new procedures to address the problems." (Feb. 4: More coming....I will be addressing issues concerning proper euthanasia techniques, along with other miscellaneous topics)
Oops, did you hear that? It sounded like a loud "thud"....did you hear it too? Maybe that was Mr. Smith falling off his throne.....No?? Well, maybe not......NOT YET......
(saving link for later use, makes me sick to my stomach. visit it if you wish)
http://thevoiceforthevoiceless.blogspot.com/2010/07/animals-in-alabama-needs-kuranda-beds.html