Friday, February 18, 2011

Investigation of animal shelter continuing this weekend

BETHEL TWP., Clark County — Authorities will likely spend the weekend investigating an animal neglect case here because of the large number of animals — 361 dogs and 15 cats at last count — kept in two old hog barns.

It’s the largest case of its kind that the county has seen, said Clark County Humane Society Director Jim Straley Friday.

The Thursday raid on the property at 8393 Lower Valley Pike is the second shelter raided by authorities in two weeks operated under the One More Chance Adoption name and owned and managed by New Carlisle resident Jeff Burgess…

Mark Kumpf, director of the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center… said it appears the case is one of the largest ever handled by Ohio animal welfare workers.

Kumpf is critical of state animal care law, which he said is inadequate because shelters aren’t required to undergo annual inspections. Private rescue operations, often in residential areas, typically fall only under local zoning codesmore