Hello jeanne,
The best thing to do is to get in touch with the LA County Department
of Animal Care and Control. The information below is taken from the
Department’s web site:
http://animalcontrol.co.la.ca.us/html/Main1.htm
The roles of the Department include (asterisks are my emphasis):
“Besides patrolling busy streets, backroads, beaches and canyons for
lost, injured and abandoned animals, our animal control officers also
sell dog licenses,
*****conduct humane investigations whenever cruelty to animals is
suspected*****,
provide emergency rescues during natural disasters, and
*****enforce all state and local animal control laws*****.”
If you select “Laws and Policies” and then “Laws and Ordinances” in
the navigation bar, you will come to a statement of the legal
position:
“Inhumane Treatment: State Penal Code Sec. 597 and County Code Sec.
10.12.160 forbid the abusing, mistreatment, torturing and subjecting
any animal to needless suffering. These laws provide that no animal
may be deprived of proper food, water or shelter. Violation of these
laws can result in felony charges. Please report any case of inhumane
animal treatment or neglect to your local animal control agency.”
How to contact them (select “Request for Services” to access this
information):
“The Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control is the
largest animal regulation agency in the United States. The Department
operates six animal care and control centers.”
“The field and shelter office staff enforce all state, county and
municipal laws regarding the care and control of domestic animals.
Each of the Department's six shelters are responsible to:
….. Investigate cases of suspected animal abuse and neglect and the
impoundment of animals seized in such cases.
….. Inspect and license pet shops, animal boarding kennels, pet
grooming parlors, wild animal compounds and exhibitions as well as
guard dog firms and guard dogs owned by individual businesses.”
At the bottom of that page, you will find a link to a list of the
local centers.
Selecting Alhambra from the drop-down menu , you get the following:
“LA County: Downey Shelter
11258 S. Garfield Ave.
Downey, CA 90242
(562) 940-6898
Hours:
Monday – Thursday 12 PM - 7 PM, Friday and Saturday 10 AM - 5 PM
Closed Sunday and Holidays
Directions:
Exit the Long Beach Freeway at Imperial Highway, shelter is located on
Garfield Ave.,
one block South of Imperial, East of the Long Beach Freeway.
Proudly serving the cities/areas of: Alhambra, City of…” etc
I hope this answer meets your needs, and I also hope that something
will be done soon to rectify the situation at the pet store.
Search strategy: My current work in the UK includes an awareness of
animal welfare organizations worldwide. I went directly to the web
site of the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals -
http://www.aspca.org There, I followed links to “Legal Information”
and then “Report Animal Cruelty”, which led me to the Humane Law
Enforcement Directory. The Directory gave web site details for the LA
County Department of Animal Care and Control. |
Clarification of Answer by
tehuti-ga
on
28 Sep 2003 07:40 PDT
Hello jeanne,
My esteemed fellow researcher, pinkfreud-ga, has drawn my attention to
a section in the California Penal Code, which explains in more detail
the responsibilities of pet shops and the sanctions if these
responsiblities are neglected. From this, it appears that there will
be a strong case against the store in question.
""§597 (l) It shall be unlawful for any person who operates a pet shop
to fail to do all of the following:
(1) Maintain the facilities used for the keeping of pet animals in a
sanitary condition.
(2) Provide proper heating and ventilation for the facilities used for
the keeping of pet animals.
(3) Provide adequate nutrition for, and humane care and treatment of,
all pet animals under his care and control.
(4) Take reasonable care to release for sale, trade, or adoption only
those pet animals which are free of disease or injuries.
(5) Provide adequate space appropriate to the size, weight and species
of pet animals.
(b) As used in this section:
(1) “Pet animals” means dogs, cats, monkeys, and other primates,
rabbits, birds, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, snakes, iguanas, turtles,
and any other species of animal sold or retained for the purpose of
being kept as a household pet.
(2) “Pet shop” means every place or premises where pet animals are
kept for the purpose of either wholesale or retail sale. “Pet shop”
does not include any place or premises where pet animals are
occasionally sold.
(c) Any person who violates any provision of this section is guilty of
a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine of not to exceed one
thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail for
not more than 90 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
§597 (t) Every person who keeps an animal confined in an enclosed area
shall provide it with an adequate exercise area. If the animal is
restricted by a leash, rope, or chain, the leash, rope, or chain shall
be affixed in such a manner that it will prevent the animal from
becoming entangled or injured and permit the animal’s access to
adequate shelter, food, and water. Violation of this section
constitutes a misdemeanor."
http://www.peta.org/alert/pnplaw.html
|
