Chronology of the Animal Humane Society Stray Cat Craziness
    Since Janelle Dixon took the helm of the Animal Humane Society, a controversy has been brewing in the animal welfare community in Minnesota. A detailed outline of the legal issues relating to this dispute is here. In short, Minnesota law defines a "stray" animal as any free-roaming domestic animal. This includes companion animals, livestock, and makes no exception for the socialization status or temperament of the animal. Fundamentally, stray animal laws were written with the intent of protecting peoples' property rights. The laws were written to allow the owner of animals found roaming "estray" an opportunity reclaim them.

    Law enforcement officials and private citizens are given public authority by these laws to "seize" or "take up" domestic animals found roaming "estray".

    Municipal animal control facilities and private animal shelters are given authority to impound stray animals. Minnesota Statute 35.71 defines what agencies can handle stray animals, and what they must do with them if they take them. This statute reads, in part:
    All animals seized by public authority must be held for redemption by the owner for at least five regular business days of the impounding agency or for a longer time specified by municipal ordinance.


    In spite of this requirement, shortly after Ms. Dixon became the head of the Animal Humane Society, Animal Ark began receiving complaints that Animal Humane Society was not complying with the 5-day hold requirement written in the law. Over the course of nearly 2 years, Animal Ark has been lobbying the Animal Humane Society to revise their policies and practices to bring them into compliance with this law. AHS has failed to do so, resulting in Animal Ark and other animal welfare advocates feeling it necessary to take active steps to ensure comliance with the law.

    Following is a detailed chronology of the key events that have transpired over this time period.

    September 16, 2008
    Anne Vollmerhausen and Robert Jones wrote a formal complaint to Janelle Dixon ("Vollmerhausen Complaint") about a kitten they brought to the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley. The complaint outlines a terrible experience they had rescuing a young kitten in their neighborhood. Once rescued, the pair took the kitten to the Animal Humane Society, where, the complaint alleged, the kitten was killed within about five minutes of arrival. Vollmerhausen and Jones sent copies of the complaint to Dixon and other animal welfare organizations in Minnesota, including Animal Ark.

    September 26, 2008
    Bruce Kranig, Site Manager of Animal Humane Society Golden Valley location responds to Vollmerhausen via email. In this email, Kranig wrote:
    It is the position of the Animal Humane Society to humanely euthanize felines determined to be feral.  This is typically done the same day the animal arrives and is assessed.

    The Kranig email is forwarded to Animal Ark by Vollmerhausen. This is the first documentation Animal Ark received that Animal Humane Society, as a matter of policy, is routinely killing some stray animals, without holding them for the required 5-day period.

    September 29, 2008
    After receiving the Vollmerhausen Complaint and AHS response, Animal Ark Executive Director sent the following email to Janelle Dixon:
    Dear Ms. Dixon,

    I am emailing you in an effort to notify you of a complaint I have received about a kitten that was reported to have been killed at your Golden Valley facility on September 16, 2008.  The kitten would have been brought in by Anne Vollmerhausen and Robert Jones.

    A copy of a letter sent to Animal Ark by Vollmerhausen and Jones is attached as a pdf for your reference.

    Can you please provide to me an accounting of the interaction between AHS and this family?  I find the account in this letter quite disturbing, not only for the reasons explained in the letter, but because the account of this kitten's story could represent a violation of Minnesota state law, which requires that shelters and impound centers that take in "stray" animals to hold them for a period of at least 5 days, in order to provide any families that may be looking for lost pets an opportunity to find them.

    For these reasons, I consider this complaint very serious and look forward to your account of this situation.


    October 1, 2008
    Dixon Responds to Email from Animal Ark with the following email:
    Thank you for your concern about this issue.  We are in contact with the family to respond to their concerns.  We will continue to address this matter in this manner through direct communication with the family.
     
    Sincerely,


    Animal Ark Replied to Dixon's email with the following email:
    Janelle,

    Thanks for taking the time to respond.  I have received additional information from this family - a copy of an email sent to them by your site manager at Golden Valley.  From my perspective, the reply escalates this issue from a complaint about a single cat that was probably inappropriately killed at your facility to a serious issue relating to your organization's handling of all "stray" felines.

    Your site manager, Bruce Kranig, indicated that it is AHS policy to evaluate stray cats at the point of intake to determine if they are feral, with the animals determined to be feral destroyed, without being held for the required minimum 5 day hold period.  It is worth noting that local municipalities can require longer than the 5 day hold period.  As a result, stray animals are to be held according to the hold periods applicable in the community where the animal was found.

    Additionally, many cities in and around the Twin Cities metro area do not have containment laws for cats, which suggests that many "stray" cats may, in fact, be family pets out on a stroll.  And, while I do not support the idea of people letting their cats roam outside, throughout much of the Twin Cities and surrounding areas, it is perfectly legal for them to do so.

    Without knowing a feral cat's history and home territory, it is virtually impossible to distinguish a genuine feral feline from a frightened house pet.

    Because of these things, it appears highly likely that AHS policies, as stated by Mr. Kranig, could be resulting in the unnecessary deaths of companion animals, without those pets even being held for the required 5 day impound period.

    This is, naturally, above the concern that many animal welfare advocates have already expressed to AHS: feral felines do not need to be killed, especially not when the policies in place may be falsely labeling house pets as "feral".

    I request an immediate termination of any practice of evaluating or killing stray cats on intake.

    There was never any response to this email.

    February 21, 2009
    After not receiving any response from AHS that addressed the nature of the concern or complaint, Animal Ark forwarded the Vollmerhausen complaint to some Animal Humane Society Board members, for the purpose of informing them of the serious nature of the complaint against their policy and practices related to their handling of stray animals.

    August 9, 2009
    Pioneer Press prints a story related to 7 cats that were killed on arrival at the Woodbury shelter of the Animal Humane Society.

    Animal Ark sends an email to some AHS board members, re-stating concerns and providing a link to the Pioneer Press story.

    August 12, 2009
    Board members of AHS email Dixon expressing concern about the Pioneer Press story, and stated concerns about Animal Ark's complaint regarding these policies.

    Dixon responds to board members by saying, in part:
    The situations Mike refers to happened about 6 to 9 months ago and have been looked into and addressed.


    Animal Humane Society Board Members forward Dixons response to Animal Ark.

    September 1, 2009
    The City of Afton begins a series of workshops looking into their cat impound contract with Animal Humane Society. Responding to complaints by residents. Minutes from the meeting read, in part:
    Council received a request from some residents to review the current arrangement Afton has for animal control. The discussion arises because in May, seven cats were caught in live traps and brought to the Animal Humane Society in Woodbury and were euthanized on the day they were brought in rather than after the five day waiting period that is required by state law.


    September 29, 2009
    Marshall Tanick, an attorney representing Animal Ark, the Animal Rights Coalition, the No Kill Advocacy Center, Vollmerhausen, and Kim Myhers (caretaker of the Afton cats that were killed) sends a letter to Dixon expressing concerns from the group, and offering to meet to discuss ways to resolve our concerns.

    November 4, 2009
    Sarah Duniway of Grey, Plant, Mooty, Mooty & Bennet, Attorney for AHS, writes a letter to Tanick. Duniway suggests that the term "stray" does not apply to "feral" cats. She states that AHS is capable of clearly determining which cats are "feral" (a term that is not even defined in State law). She also suggests that it is inhumane to house cats the Humane Society believes may be "feral". She also indicates that AHS killed "only" about 500 stray cats without holding them 5 days. More importantly, perhaps, Duniway puts forward the legal argument AHS uses to justify killing these cats on arrival. She references Minn. Stat 343.29 and 343.27. These statutes provide the option for veterinarians who determine animals seized during cruelty investigations the option to humanly euthanize them, if the animals are deemed to be "incurably suffering". She states that "feral" cats are incurably suffering.

    November 17, 2009
    Tanick responds to Duniway, highlighting what he believes to be errors of law in her letter. He also offers to have his client sit down with AHS to resolve the matter confidentially.

    At the regular Afton City Council Meeting, City Council unanimously votes to terminate impound contract with AHS.

    November 25, 2009
    Duniway sends an email agreeing to a meeting, and that full confidentiality of the discussions would be required if the meeting were to take place.

    December 7, 2009
    Duniway, Tanick and representatives from Animal Ark, the Animal Rights Coalition, the No Kill Advocacy Center, and Animal Humane Society sign a confidentiality agreement stating:
    None of the participants would quote, purport to quote, paraphrase or characterize any statements made during the discussion(s) to the media or general public.


    The group meets to discuss a possible resolution that would not only result in all stray animals (as defined by State law) be held the required 5-day period. They also discussed means by which they could work together to reduce the kill rate for these and other animals.

    Animal Humane Society offered to hold all stray animals for 5 days, only if Animal Ark agreed that at the end of the 5 days, Animal Ark would take any of the animals that were deemed "feral" at that point. Animal Ark agreed and indicated that certain requirement would need to be met. For example, people surrendering stray animals would need to be educated about the program at the time of drop-off. Additionally, there would be need for notice to Animal Ark that would be sufficient to make preparations for the felines. In an effort to expedite a resolution, Animal Ark proposed an interim agreement, whereby AHS would agree to being holding all stray animals for the required 5 day period. During the interim period, the organizations would be able to work out the details of this program.

    January 7, 2010
    Duniway sends an email to Tanick indicating AHS would not sign the interim agreement that was proposed.

    AHS features a story on the front page of their web site stating they were no longer going to be accepting "feral" cats as part of their municipal contracts. Additionally, the organization makes several false statement, including:
    "AHS also offered to release feral cats to the Hastings organization’s feral cat program, but the organization rejected the opportunity to take them."

    Not only are these statements demonstrably false, they violate the terms of the confidentiality agreement they demanded in order to agree to meet.

    January 8, 2010
    A representative from the City of Woodbury contacted Animal Ark to inform them that the City was terminating their impound contract with Animal Humane Society.

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