Letter to the Ranchland News – 8.23.07

On August 22nd, I had the pleasure of attending a town hall meeting in Calhan hosted by Representative Marsha Looper and featuring a panel of experts from various agencies. This meeting focused on animal control/abuse issues being faced by the citizens primarily in the unincorporated areas of El Paso County over which there are no animal ordinances and are outside of the resolution area of the county.

As a candidate for the County Commissioner seat in District 2, I am extremely focused on these animal issues and dedicated to studying the situation and listening to the people in the affected areas. To that end, I would like to share a few thoughts regarding what I believe the county should and should not be doing as it relates to animal control policy. These thoughts are in the spirit of conversation about this topic and even though I am just a candidate at this point, I have had and will continue to have conversations with the citizens and our elected commissioners in order to discern the best course of action as we move forward.

First of all, it is a fact that the number of active criminal investigations involving animal neglect/cruelty is higher than in previous years. The Sheriff’s Office is struggling to keep up with this number of investigations and the number of animals in its custody. So we do have a problem. However, does this mean that it is time to start adding new layers of county governmental control? I say no. I don’t believe that things are quite as broken as some would have us believe and I certainly don’t believe that additional regulations and/or ordinances from a government entity (the county) are going to solve anything. I do not support extending the resolution area (leash law boundaries) into the unincorporated areas of our county.

Another fact is that people are going to continue to abuse and abandon animals. This is not something that is ever going to be able to be completely eliminated. Because of the fact that this behavior will always plague us, many organizations have stepped in to try to help save affected animals and educate the public. These organizations can and must work to educate people as to what is acceptable animal care and provide information which will help people be effective animal owners. I support the efforts of these non-profits and private organizations which work so hard to protect animals and I believe that they provide a key piece of the puzzle in solving many of these issues and providing much needed support to the Sheriff’s Office. However, I believe these organizations must restrict their activity to animal care and support and leave the investigating to the authorities who have legal jurisdiction. This is a fine line and I want to be very diligent in protecting the rights of our citizens from over-zealous agencies which may not have the expertise to discern the true nature of many situations and to know when to call in the authorities.

So what is the role of county government on this issue? In the part of the county outside the resolution area, the Sheriff’s Office and District Attorney’s Office are the agencies which have county authority in terms of enforcing the laws currently on the books. The county has the ability to change ordinance policy but cannot write legislation changing existing criminal laws and abuse standards. That must be taken up with the legislature. What I do believe the county can and should do is find some way to oversee the non-profit organizations and rescue operations popping up in the unincorporated areas. The county must make sure that these organizations are adequately providing support to our citizens and Sheriff’s Office while not encroaching on private property rights and overstepping jurisdictional boundaries.

I will also say that I consider these problems to have county-wide impact and therefore I was thankful to see Commissioner Dennis Hisey in attendance. I also appreciate that Representative Looper took the time to coordinate this informational meeting as it includes state legislative issues as well. These issues need to be studied and addressed by the Board of County Commissioners and as such, I would like to look at the possibility of creating a volunteer commission charged with the responsibility of overseeing and supporting the growing network of rescue organizations and non-profit agencies working to take in abused animals and find suitable homes for them. These types of volunteer groups exist at every level in our county structure and add invaluable expertise and assistance to the running of the county. We must discuss how such a group could be effective in advising the Board of County Commissioners and supporting the Sheriff’s Office so as not to be just window dressing. This group would be appointed by the County Commissioners and would have to be comprised of experts, i.e.: ranchers, veterinarians, 4H’ers, land owners and community members in the effected areas of the county who know best how to care for animals, what constitutes abuse, and can help discern between true abuse cases and real life in rural animal settings.

I think it would be reasonable to make it possible for people to be able to bring in animals for which they can no longer care and/or are in over their heads to an agency which could take them off their hands with no consequences – no questions asked – no investigations. Details will have to be worked out in order to implement this kind of a program, but let’s have the discussion and see if this is something we can all agree would benefit the animals and residents of El Paso County.

This is only the beginning and only a small sampling of some of my thoughts on this matter. I will continue to listen, participate and work with the citizens, our elected officials and non-profits representatives to help find solutions for these problems. I must reiterate however, that I do not want to fix something that is not broken and that we must be very careful not to create new and complex problems with too much intervention. Many entities, including the Sheriff’s Office are working hard to address many of the issues raised at the August 22nd meeting and I am watching closely as they move forward.

I look forward to a follow up meeting in the future at which we can talk more about solutions than problems.

Amy Lathen
Candidate, County Commissioner District 2