New Orleans Considers Dog Spay-Neuter Ordinance

Do not give the La SPCA this power - On March 11, 2005, the Boudreaux compound near Youngsville was raided by an enormous convoy including a SWAT team, State Police, U.S. Customs officials and several animal welfare organizations, including the Louisiana SPCA. In addition to dogfighting paraphernalia, 57 dogs were seized and euthanized within 24 hours in accordance with a Louisiana law that stipulates that fighting dogs are "dangerous, vicious, and a threat to the health and safety of the public" and subsequently may be "humanely euthanized as soon as possible."
The bust made headlines around the world, particularly in the underground world of dogfighters, where people collected money to pay for the defense, and others made death threats against those involved in euthanizing the dogs. But more than three years later, the defense argued that the dogs had been killed too quickly for them to be properly evaluated, and the judge, casting aside all other evidence, agreed, dismissing 48 counts of dogfighting against the pair. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS • OCTOBER 16, 2009 - Breeders sue Louisiana SPCA for loss of 57 pit bulls. Ana Zorrilla, chief executive officer of the Louisiana SPCA, said she could not comment about the lawsuit because she hadn't seen it. However, she said, state law authorizes animal control to euthanize animals within 24 hours in dogfighting cases.
The law also lets dog owners challenge a decision to kill suspected fighting dogs and post a cash bond to pay for the cost of boarding the animals until trial.
Dalton said the Boudreauxs were arrested and jailed on a Friday and didn't have an opportunity to post bond on their dogs until they were released the following Monday. By then, he said, the dogs were dead. The state trooper who investigated the case testified at the Boudreauxs' criminal trial that he believed the SPCA would house the animals and did not know the dogs would be euthanized. A representative of the SPCA testified that no one person at the nonprofit animal welfare group made the decision to kill the animals but that there was a general assumption that the dogs would be euthanized. Only one of the Vick dogs was euthanized for aggression against people - the other 21 were rehabilitated....

A lot to think about!