Guest guest Posted May 8, 2004 Report Share Posted May 8, 2004 Kitrynak @ aol.com (remove 2 spaces) Animalara2003 @ aol.com (remove 2 spaces) Friday, May 07, 2004 10:39 PM [voicesforRahkim] Fwd: [caarr] News: (US MO) Town Euthanizes Stray Dogs By Shooting Them http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/news/3278588/detail.html TheKansasCityChannel.com Mayor: Gunfire Cheap, Humane Way To Deal With Strays POSTED: 9:50 pm CDT May 6, 2004 UPDATED: 10:32 am CDT May 7, 2004 IBERIA, Mo. -- A small Missouri town has a tough answer to the question of stray dogs. Video Watch KMBC's Report Law enforcement in Iberia, Mo., shoots them in the head. Missouri law allows law enforcement officers to euthanize some stray animals, KMBC's Lara Moritz reported. "According to state statute, if an animal is vicious, we can take and dispose of it in any means available. And so, the means available is, we use a .22 (caliber) rifle," Iberia Mayor Bob Crawford said. Crawford upholds the policy of shooting dogs whether they are vicious or not, Moritz reported. He recently posted a letter stating that the stray dog problem will be handled by the way he sees fit. Crawford said he believes shooting an animal is "more humane" than other methods of euthanasia because the animal "doesn't know what hit him." Sharon Smith, who makes her living grooming animals, has saved dogs from being shot in Iberia. "He was going to be shot -- that's what the officer said -- he was going to shoot him because he had nowhere to take him," Smith said. "I worry about the dogs, the pets that I groom. What if they got loose and got picked up and got shot? It would be horrible." After a dog is picked up, officers take it to a vacant lot in the middle of town to shoot it. The lot is directly behind Kim Downing's business on Main Street. She says she can hear the gunshots, and she's against the policy. But other residents support the way Iberia deals with stray animals. "I think it's helped -- you don't see any dogs running the street now," resident Larry Martin said. "The city police, they're just doing the best they can. If they was out here shooting dogs just, shooting dogs for the fun of it, it'd be a different story." The mayor says the Iberia city budget is so small, it's not possible to build an animal shelter. And there is no dog licensing in the city, which could help to fund a shelter, Moritz reported. And not having a shelter makes it difficult for the city to tell the difference between a stray dog and a pet. _______________________````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` "The day may come when the rest of the animal creation may acquire those rights which never could have been withholden from them but by the hand of tyranny. The question is not can they REASON, nor can they TALK, but can they SUFFER?" Jeremy Bentham 1748 - 1832 > ATTACHMENT part 2 message/rfc822 name=[caarr] News_ (US MO) Town Euthanizes Stray Dogs By Shooting Them.eml"Kathryn L.Kovach" Fri, 7 May 2004 22:10:10 -0400[caarr] News: (US MO) Town Euthanizes Stray Dogs By Shooting Them - Animalara2003 Friday, May 07, 2004 9:04 PM http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/news/3278588/detail.html TheKansasCityChannel.com Mayor: Gunfire Cheap, Humane Way To Deal With Strays POSTED: 9:50 pm CDT May 6, 2004 UPDATED: 10:32 am CDT May 7, 2004 IBERIA, Mo. -- A small Missouri town has a tough answer to the question of stray dogs. Video Watch KMBC's Report Law enforcement in Iberia, Mo., shoots them in the head. Missouri law allows law enforcement officers to euthanize some stray animals, KMBC's Lara Moritz reported. "According to state statute, if an animal is vicious, we can take and dispose of it in any means available. And so, the means available is, we use a .22 (caliber) rifle," Iberia Mayor Bob Crawford said. Crawford upholds the policy of shooting dogs whether they are vicious or not, Moritz reported. He recently posted a letter stating that the stray dog problem will be handled by the way he sees fit. Crawford said he believes shooting an animal is "more humane" than other methods of euthanasia because the animal "doesn't know what hit him." Sharon Smith, who makes her living grooming animals, has saved dogs from being shot in Iberia. "He was going to be shot -- that's what the officer said -- he was going to shoot him because he had nowhere to take him," Smith said. "I worry about the dogs, the pets that I groom. What if they got loose and got picked up and got shot? It would be horrible." After a dog is picked up, officers take it to a vacant lot in the middle of town to shoot it. The lot is directly behind Kim Downing's business on Main Street. She says she can hear the gunshots, and she's against the policy. But other residents support the way Iberia deals with stray animals. "I think it's helped -- you don't see any dogs running the street now," resident Larry Martin said. "The city police, they're just doing the best they can. If they was out here shooting dogs just, shooting dogs for the fun of it, it'd be a different story." The mayor says the Iberia city budget is so small, it's not possible to build an animal shelter. And there is no dog licensing in the city, which could help to fund a shelter, Moritz reported. And not having a shelter makes it difficult for the city to tell the difference between a stray dog and a pet. Copyright 2004 by TheKansasCityChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. _______________________````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` "The day may come when the rest of the animal creation may acquire those rights which never could have been withholden from them but by the hand of tyranny. The question is not can they REASON, nor can they TALK, but can they SUFFER?" Jeremy Bentham 1748 - 1832 Win a $20,000 Career Makeover at HotJobs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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