By Kathy Chaffin
kchaffin@salisburypost.com
Four candidates and 36 animal advocates turned out for an animal welfare policy round table Monday evening at Rowan Public Library.
Democratic candidates were William Burnette of Davie County, who is running for the N.C. Senate District 34 seat currently held by Andrew Brock; Dr. Teresa Bratton of Greensboro, who is running for the 6th Congressional District seat currently held by Howard Coble; and Republican Dr. Ada Fisher of Salisbury, who is running for the 77th N.C. House District seat currently held by Lorene Coates.
The other Republican candidate at the round table was Ty Cobb of Rockwell, who is running for the 12th District U.S. House seat now held by Mel Watt.
Beth Bowman, an animal activist and one of the organizers of the roundtable, commented on the poor turnout from candidates: “As you can see, many of the candidates had other commitments or did not have the desire to come.”
The candidates who did show up seemed to be in agreement on most of the animal rights and legislation questions posed to them by animal activist Malcolm Kenton of Greensboro. They were in favor of improving animal laws and programs if ó and it’s a big if, they said ó there’s enough money.
Bratton, in answer to the first question for Congressional candidates, said she would support “continued funding for adequate enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, including the hiring of additional APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) inspectors,” but couldn’t make any guarantees due to the state of the economy “at this moment in history.”
Cobb agreed with Bratton. “Folks, we’re broke,” he said. “If you didn’t watch TV today, you’ll find out we’re more broke than we thought we were. Every program is going to have to fight for dollars.”The two candidates also agreed they would not support legislation instituting a permanent ban on horse slaughter and exports of horses for human consumption. Both said there are different practices in different parts of the world, and they should be respected.
When it came to state animal issues, Burnette and Fisher both said they would support additional funding to help counties crack down on animal fighting.
“If it’s a problem,” Burnette stipulated.
Fisher brought up another issue she said needed to be addressed: how people use dogs and other animals and for what purpose. Pit bulls, for example, “are a sign of drug dealers,” she said.
The animal advocates at the round table ó including members of the Rowan County Humane Society and Faithful Friends, the animal rescue group raising money to build a no-kill shelter on 10.1 acres recently donated on Grace Church Road ó were passionate about their concerns.
One man said there should be laws against people leaving their dogs on chains that end up getting wrapped around fences and bushes.
Another man said the county doesn’t need any new laws. “We just need resources to enforce the laws we have,” he said.
Rodney Cress, who was instrumental in securing the land donation from David Clark for Faithful Friends, spoke to the group about a possible solution to Rowan County’s animal overpopulation problem.
The N.C. Department of Health has a program in place, he said, whereby participating counties would be reimbursed for everything but the administrative costs of spaying and neutering cats and dogs.
Cress said he hand-delivered a packet about the program to Rowan Commissioner Jim Sides and notified the others on the board about it in an Aug. 18 e-mail, but he has yet to hear anything back from any of them.
“This is great news,” Beth Bowman responded. “I just can’t believe this program is out there and we’re not taking advantage of it.”
She added later, “Do you see why we have to have a meeting for our county commissioners?”
Cress said veterinarians participating in the program would turn in invoices for spaying and neutering dogs and cats to Rowan County Manager Bill Cowan, who would turn them over to the state for reimbursement to the county and then the veterinarians.
A representative of a Moore County animal advocate group told Cress in an e-mail that the county had saved $800,000 in Animal Control costs since the program had been in effect.
Last year, Cress said 8,000 cats and dogs were euthanized at the Rowan County Animal Shelter. The year before, he said 96 percent of cats either taken to the shelter or picked up by officers were euthanized, and 84 percent of the dogs.
Statewide, Cress said Rowan ranks eighth out of 100 counties on the number of cats euthanized each year and 12th on the number of dogs. Every week, he said another group of unwanted dogs and cats is euthanized at the Animal Shelter.
“It’s a Holocaust every Tuesday at the shelter,” said Bowman.
One woman at the roundtable said animal advocates once had a plan whereby people could have their cats and dogs spayed and neutered for free, but Rowan veterinarians were opposed to it.
Cress said he takes feral cats on his property to a Greensboro spay and neuter clinic because the $35 cost, which also includes a rabies shot, is so much cheaper than local veterinarians. He has taken 35 cats over the past two years, 17 of them in the last two months.