Government Powers and Government Overreach

If you have carefully read the previous posts in this blog, I appreciate your time and effort.  In order to get to the reasons why Prince George's County Animal Management Division kills about 6,000 animals, year after year, it was first necessary to get past the common excuses.  With this post, I'll begin to explain the real reasons.

To summarize, we have demonstrated, using verifiable data from reliable sources, that there is no pet overpopulation problem.  In fact, PG AMD fills only about 4% of the demand for pets in the county.  "Too many pets, not enough homes" is simply a myth that is perpetuated as a convenient excuse for killing.

Neither the size of the population of the county, nor the number of animals taken in are valid reasons to kill so many.  We looked at other jurisdictions that have similar circumstances and are saving 90% -- sometimes as high as 97-98% -- of all animals presented at their shelters.  The county size may be used as an excuse, but it is just that -- an excuse.

The economic conditions in the county -- a high household income and low rate of poverty -- make Prince George's County among the most favorable for saving lives.  Also, the low intake per capita of 11 per 1,000 is only about half of the national average of 23 per 1,000.  We have seen jurisdictions which have intake ratios as high as 87 per 1,000 -- nearly four times the national average -- and are saving 90% or more of the animals taken in.

It's not a lack of funds, either.  Prince George's County allocates about $4.00 per capita to Animal Control and Animal Sheltering -- even after budget cuts.  This is approximately average for these services.  We have also seen that at least one shelter with an allocation of $1.50 per capita is saving 90% of the animals.  Data shows that the budget allocation is not related to the save rate.

Now, with all of these excuses out of the way, I'd like to explore one of several concepts which will enlighten our examination of PG AMD and will begin to explain why PG AMD kills so many animals, year after year.  You may have forgotten these from your 10th grade Civics class, or possibly, like me, never learned them.  In any case, these are very important, and, hopefully, not as boring as U.S. Census data.

Please note:  "I am a non-attorney spokesperson" as they say, but my advocacy work in Prince George's County has provided me with a lot of experience with the law.

The first of the concepts is ...

Government Powers

Governments don't exist in nature.  They must be created.  The governments that we have at the Federal, State and Local levels have been created by the U.S. Constitution, Maryland State Constitution (yes we have one), County Statutes, and Municipal codes.

A crucial issue here is that government activities are not supposed to be a free-for-all.  The laws give Government specific powers.  These laws are called the "enabling legislation" because they specify the activities in which the government is authorized to engage.

Government agencies may be authorized to establish Regulations which clarify what the agency understands the laws to mean.  These are intended to make it clear to the public what is expected in order to comply with the law, and also remove any ambiguity as to how the agency personnel will enforce the law.  Regulations must be established according to specific rules (like allowing public comment), and can be challenged in court.  NOTE:  If the agency does NOT make Regulations, the powers of enforcement are limited to the strict letter of the law.

So, governments are created and given specific powers by law.  When a government agency goes beyond it's designated powers, that is known as Government Overreach.

So, How Does This Concept Impact Killing Animals?

Let's look at one example.

For more than a century, the (in)famous "DOG CATCHER" has been snatching dogs that have been running round town at large, and bringing them back to the pound were most of them were subsequently killed.

In Prince George's County, Animal Management Division has been given the authority to IMPOUND in Subtitle 3, Section 122, "Impounding animals; procedure" which says, ...

(a) A dog found at large with a license tag, ... or other indications of ownership shall ... be impounded ... confined ... not less than five (5) workdays, ...

This gives PG AMD the authority to impound a dog with a license and requires that it be held for five workdays.

Section 122 continues, ...

(b) A dog found at large without a license tag or other indications of ownership shall be impounded as above. However, such stray dogs will be confined in a humane manner for a period of not less than three (3) workdays.

Section 122, paragraphs (a) and (b) together, enable PG AMD to impound a dog, with or without a license or other indications of ownership.

Section 122, continues, ...

(c) In the event an impounded animal shows signs of disease, injury, ...

Paragraph (c) enables discretion in the event that an animal that is impounded is sick or injured.

But WAIT A MINUTE!  Paragraphs (a) and (b) enable ONLY the impoundment of dogs.  How can that be?  What about cats?  Let's look at the big picture.

We have to look high and low for the authority to impound.  There is nothing in Federal law that requires PG AMD to impound cats.  In the U.S.A. there are only 14 states that require the impoundment of cats.  Maryland is NOT one of them.  So far there is no enabling legislation giving the authority to impound cats at either the Federal or State level.

Let's go back to the Prince George's County Statue, Section 122, and continue with ...

(d) Domesticated animals other than dogs may be impounded when found at large or abandoned, and disposed of in accordance with procedures established pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Director.

Ah HA!  This refers to cats.  Now, let's see what the "procedures established pursuant to regulations" say about impounding cats.  Looking ...  Still looking ... Hmm.  It seems that there are no regulations to establish procedures pursuant to.  That means that the authority of PG AMD is limited to the letter of the law.  The law in paragraphs (a) and (b) enables only the impoundment of dogs.

Please note:  There are other places in the statute that enable the impoundment of cats which are diseased or injured (a very small number), or an owned pet which has been adjudicated to be a nuisance and the owner has not abated the nuisance (virtually none).

This means that when a cat, at large, is impounded by PG AMD, the agency has exceeded the limits of its enabling legislation.  This is Government Overreach.

The Tally Resulting From Government Overreach

What is the effect on PG AMD's performance because of the unlawful impoundment of cats at large?  Let's use round numbers, for simplicity.

In 2012, PG AMD took in about 10,000 live animals.  (We've excluded those that were DOA.)

About 1,000 were returned to their owners, about 1,000 were adopted, and about 2,000 were transferred to Rescue Groups for foster care and adoption.

This means that about 4,000 animals (40%) got out alive.  The rest, about 6,000 (60%), didn't.

Look Better -- Obey The Law

Now, compare the actual performance to what it would look like if only one change were made in PG AMD practices -- Observe the limits of authority granted by Sec. 3-122, Impounding animals; procedures.

In 2012, PG AMD illegally impounded about 3,000 cats at large.  If they had not, ...

PG AMD would have taken in about 7,000 live animals.

If there had been no other changes in practices, and, as before, 1,000 animals were returned to owners, 1,000 were adopted, and 2,000 were transferred to Rescue Groups, (the vast majority of the illegally impounded cats were killed, so would not contribute significantly to the returns, adoptions, and transfers) then ...

About 4,000 animals (57%) would have gotten out alive (a 17% increase over 40%).  The number killed would be reduced from 6,000 to 3,000 (a 50% reduction in the number of animals killed), which would be kill rate of 42%, rather than 60%.

But Don't Cats Need Our Help?

As it turns out, when a stray cat is impounded, the likelihood of it being returned to the owner is about 2%.  Over the past decade, 85% of all cats entering the PG ASF have been killed -- a 15% survival rate.  On the other hand, if a stray cat is left alone, it returns home about 30% of the time.

The Costs of Overreach

The illegal impoundment of cats results in more than just the increased kill rate.  Some of the cats are held for 3 days, in accordance with the Statute.  Others are simply killed.  This has a tremendous fiscal impact on PG AMD.  Impounding a cat, holding it, only to kill it is a waste of money, and the time that employees spend doing it (which is more money).  Those resources could be put to better use.

Why Would PG AMD Want To Violate The Law By Exceeding Its Legal Authority, Since The Result Is Doubling The Number Of Animals Killed And Wasting A Lot Of Time And Money?

That's a good question.

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Tim Saffell is the President of Prince Georges Feral Friends, SPCA, www.PGFerals.org, which sponsors No Kill Prince George’s County MD www.NoKillPrinceGeorgesCountyMD.org .