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 codes…more

No Deer Management Now, But Solon Is Preparing

Mayor Susan Drucker said the cost will be based on how many deer are culled in the first year. Drucker said as many as 300 to 400 deer may be culled in the first year of the program, based on past experience and estimates that the deer population will reach more than 1,000 by the end of the year.

Deer culling is a big issue in Solon with a controversial past…more

Councilman Russo: Deer Culling 'Misstatements' Won't be Tolerated at Safety Meetings

Solon Councilor Bill Russo on right

Russo also said that during public comment at safety committee meetings, residents will not be allowed to raise the issue of deer contraception because he said deer contraception is illegal according to the Ohio Administrative Code except during a scientific study.

"It is not allowed in the state of Ohio,

so that will not be a topic of discussion at future meetings," Russo said.

"Anyone who chooses to go down that path will be asked to sit down."

But the other members of the committee, councilmen Ed Kraus and Rick Bell, said they believe residents should have the opportunity to speak freely during a public forum…more

Unadoptable dogs to be euthanized through lethal injection

ELYRIA — Lorain County commissioners Ted Kalo and Lori Kokoski voted yesterday to eliminate the use of a gas chamber at the Lorain County Dog Kennel and will instead euthanize unadoptable dogs by lethal injection, which animal activists said is more humane…

…Commissioners also approved a plan to spay and neuter the animals before they are adopted, which will decrease the general pet population and traffic into the kennel. Currently, individuals who adopt the dogs are given a voucher to take the animal to an approved veterinarian, however, only roughly 20 percent of those are redeemed, according to Kokoski…more

Deer Culling Has Long Controversial History in Solon

For Wayne Godzich, the most difficult issue he dealt with in 42 years of police work was not murder or mayhem, but something they don't cover at the academy: deer culling.

Over the last few years, the debate over how to manage Solon's deer herd has been one of the city's most contentious – involving protests, lawsuits and fierce debates...more

Crossbow Plan Scrapped, but Comprehensive Deer Program Coming

…councilmen Ed Kraus, Richard Bell and Robert Pelunis all had major questions with the project…more

Contentious Deer Culling Proposal Heads for Solon Council Showdown

…During a contentious safety and public properties committee meeting Wednesday, a number of residents spoke out against the program. No one spoke in favor of the pilot program…

Councilmen Rick Bell, Edward Kraus and William Russo look on while residents speak about deer culling

…Ward 6 Councilman Edward Kraus voted against sending the proposal to council last week. While he says Solon will require a comprehensive deer management program, he has doubts about bow hunting.

He said other surrounding communities that use bow hunting are more rural than Solon, which has a more urban character

"My concern is the 

safety of bow hunting," Kraus said.

"When you bow hunt,

if you miss,

what happens?"

…more

Grab Your Crossbow? Solon Considers Hunting Program to Manage Deer

Under the old deer management contract with White Buffalo Inc., it cost the city about $200 or $300 per deer...more

submission for the LOHV Ohio blog, on behalf of villagedeer.com

There is a sociology study to be made here on urban leadership choosing the easiest way to reduce their immediate pain. Their pain is complaints from residents about deer eating hostas, the easiest path is to shoot deer with the added benefit of looking like a tough hombre. It's the same strategy Bush used to address his crushing unpopularity and the nation's fear of terrorism: shoot Iraqis. It didn't matter that one wasn't connected to the other or that the solution creates even more complications. What mattered was that there was an immediate, aggressive response and that he look like a hero. Pat McGinnis and Jack Straub certainly want to look like heroes.

If you watched most of our meeting's video you probably saw a couple of people say they couldn't believe the "opposition" would put deer lives ahead of human lives. I say ultimately we're fighting the notion that killing is the best way to solve a problem, and we want to prevent our kids, if we can, from acclimating to violence as a solution. It's not such a long way from culling deer to invading countries. Both actions reduce complex issues to black and white, both are acceptable only when you devalue life. None of these actions solve anything, in fact the need to escalate the action is the inescapable, totally predictable outcome. Violence perpetuates more violence by giving comfort to the pretense that a somehow unsolvable core problem can be made to go away if we only use more firepower.

Heroic action doesn't always look heroic on TV. It takes more courage, more resolve, more patience and more skill than this to really solve these problems. Public servants? Why do they really want those jobs, anyway?


Rob Slater
villagedeer.com