The Virginian-Pilot
The Portsmouth Humane Society fired its executive director Thursday amid controversy over the no-kill shelter's practice of having staff members adopt feral cats, sterilizing them and releasing the animals into the woods.
Rebecca Barclay, Humane Society board president, would not comment on Jenn Austin's removal, citing confidentiality. But the move comes a day after the board sent a letter to the state, telling officials it was not aware of the staff's actions, which were a violation of state law and the organization's rules.
The shelter, which has a five-year contract to serve as the city's animal pound, will no longer accept feral cats. That decision has forced the city, which had been taking 15 to 20 cats a week to the facility on Seaboard Court, to stop picking up the animals.
The revelation about the illegal practice came from a state investigation, triggered by a former staffer's complaint. "I was shocked and appalled," Barclay said. The practice began under former executive director Christie Chipps Peters, who left the shelter in January to take over as director of Richmond's Department of Animal Care and Control.
Reached by phone Thursday, Chipps Peters acknowledged she started it. "It is 100 percent true," she said. "I take full responsibility for that." Chipps Peters said that she started the practice about three years before she left. She said she personally adopted 30 to 50 cats, and that other staffers did, too. She couldn't say how many cats were released while she ran the shelter. Had she known it was against the law, "we would have figured something else out," she said.
Once Austin took over, the feral cat colony grew. Barclay sent a memo to Austin on Sunday in which she ordered the staff to stop adopting and releasing the animals. She said adoptions by staffers or volunteers must be approved by the shelter board's president, and that the staff must keep accurate records on all animals. "Violation of any of the above policies by shelter employees will result in immediate termination," it states.
The city's contract with the Portsmouth shelter remains in question. City officials believe dealing with feral cats was part of the deal. "We're disappointed," City Attorney George Willson said.
Barclay contends the animal shelter was never equipped to handle feral cats and that its staff should never have accepted them. "Because feral cats are unadoptable," Barclay said. "They do not have the potential to become pets."
When shelter officials worked out the contract with the city, Barclay said, it was made clear the shelter would not accept feral cats. Willson and City Manager John Rowe could not confirm that, but noted that the shelter has been accepting them from the beginning of the five-year contract, in 2010.
Feral cats are described as "wild" cats that are not socialized, avoid interaction with people and can act aggressively toward them. Stray cats, in contrast, are socialized, not aggressive and don't avoid human contact.
None of the wild cats was seen Thursday by a Pilot reporter who toured the woods line where shelter staffers have been letting them go. The only evidence of the colony was a half-dozen small animal carriers or shelters placed near the line, along with bowls for food and water.
There aren't any homes near the shelter, which is in an industrial area. But at least one adjacent business has noticed the increased presence of cats. Erin Poro, office manager for American Insulation Service next door, said her co-workers had spotted only one cat, but they've seen a lot more of something else on the grass behind their building: cat feces. "I noticed it a few months ago," Poro said. "because we have to walk our dog back there."
source
No comments:
Post a Comment