Demand Accountability for Animal Cruelty in Berkeley County, West Virginia

Demand Accountability for Animal Cruelty in Berkeley County, West Virginia

An Alley Cat Allies in-depth investigation in Berkeley County, West Virginia, has revealed that Berkeley County Animal Control intentionally, knowingly, and recklessly withheld necessary medical treatment from animals in its shelter. Animals suffered in silence and extreme pain for days without the critical veterinary care they needed. Some even died as a result.

Animal cruelty laws in West Virginia make it an offense to withhold “medical treatment, necessary to sustain normal health and fitness or to end the suffering of any animal.” Berkeley County Animal Control routinely violates these laws.

Animal cruelty laws apply just as much to Berkeley County Animal Control as to any member of the general public, especially since it is the very public office created to uphold them.

Alley Cat Allies is asking West Virginia’s highest court to order Berkeley County Animal Control to provide veterinary care for animals in its shelter. At the same time, we are demanding immediate suspension of animal intake and an investigation into shelter operations.

Please take action today to keep the pressure on. Contact members of the Berkeley County Council and ask them to take immediate action to stop the cruelty at the Berkeley County Animal Control shelter.

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Dear {contact_data~title} {contact_data~lastName},

I am writing to urge you to open an investigation into Berkeley County Animal Control for violations of West Virginia animal cruelty laws, while also taking steps to halt all animal intake and provide immediate veterinary treatment for animals currently in the shelter.

An investigation by Alley Cat Allies, the leading advocacy organization for cats, has revealed that Berkeley County Animal Control persistently and routinely withholds necessary medical treatment for animals in its care. Withholding necessary medical treatment is an act of animal cruelty under West Virginia law, and Alley Cat Allies has found that such conduct occurred with shocking frequency at the Animal Control shelter.

Alley Cat Allies uncovered multiple cases of extreme pain, suffering and even death of animals caused by Animal Control’s unlawful neglect. Newt the cat had an enlarged tongue and pharyngeal swelling that prevented him from closing his mouth, eating and drinking. He was left to languish in pain at the Berkeley County Animal Control shelter for 10 days without medical treatment.

Within a few hours of his being removed from Berkeley County Animal Control, veterinarians determined that Newt had to be humanely euthanized because of the severity of his conditions and suffering. The veterinarians believed that had Newt been taken to a veterinary hospital earlier, he could have survived.

Kimberly the dog entered the shelter with a bulging and enlarged eye, that later had an open wound underneath. She went for eight days without treatment until Alley Cat Allies removed her from the shelter and sought veterinary help.

Today Kimberly is permanently blind. Her condition could have been much improved had Berkeley County Animal Control sought immediate veterinary care.

The details of these and other cruelty cases at Berkeley County Animal Control call for decisive action and a firm commitment from county leadership to demand accountability and ensure such cruelty never happens again in Berkeley County. What is happening at the Berkeley County Animal Control shelter is a profound failure of duty and violation of state law, and it cannot be allowed to continue.

I ask you to launch an immediate investigation, hold any wrongdoers criminally accountable, and protect the animals of Berkeley County from further abuse at Berkeley County Animal Control.

Kind regards,
{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}