Los Angeles Animal Services Confiscates Six Shelters’ Weapons

August 4, 2011 2:17 PM

(credit: David McNew/Getty Images)

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LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Personnel at six of the city’s animal shelters were reportedly required to turn over weapons and ammunition to Los Angeles Polices Department officers Thursday under orders from the head of the city’s Department of Animal Services.

Brenda Barnette, general manager of Los Angeles Animal Services, instructed personnel at the shelters to “give the LAPD all handguns, rifles, shotguns and ammunition that are at your shelter.”

Employees at the West Valley Shelter in Chatsworth told the newspaper that LAPD officers arrived about 8 a.m., presented the letter from Barnette, and confiscated two shotguns, a rifle, more than a dozen .38-caliber handguns, and ammunition from a shelter storage locker.

The weapons are used to put down injured wildlife in a humane way, employees told the newspaper.

Officers from the LAPD’s Gang and Operations Support Division-Guns Section reportedly went to all six shelters operated by Animal Services.

Lynwood Sibley

the board of supervisors gave animal control people the right to put down dogs
they consider dangerous and this will cause some of the less the ones who
have a little power to abuse the thing and I remember their guns and handcuffs
being taken away because you had a few simon Legrees and now the supervisors have done away with due process by taking it out of a Judges
discressiion and I believe the supervisors may be charged with civil righta
violation as the constitution gives a due process riight for all citizens
Beth

Do you mean confisCates???
http://losangelesforme.com/2011/08/los-angeles-animal-services-confisates-six-shelters-weapons/ Los Angeles Animal Services Confisates Six Shelters? Weapons | Los Angeles for Me

[...] Personnel at six of the city?s animal shelters were reportedly required to turn over weapons and ammunition to Los Angeles Polices Department officers Thursday under orders from the head of the city?s Department of Animal Services. More from: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com… [...]
Charlie

Killing dogs/Cats with shotguns, rifles, and .38′s are HUMANE ???
Barry Ailetcher

to bad they did that now how arethey going to put down hurt wokd life by talking niceto them LA people that can tell wwhat gois on are pure IDOITS glad I don’t live in lA any longe
Hanibal Lecter

Always thought my neighbor’s kid, who loves to torture small animals, would grow up to be a serial killer, now i know he has a bright future with the City of LA
Astonished

No. Read the article. Shotguns and rifles are used on wildlife that may be too dangerous to get close to, and maybe large animals like horse and cattle.. Hand guns are generally used on dogs if the officers can’t get close enough to capture. Never heard of any cats being put down with a gun.
http://news.voterfactory.com/los-angeles_ca/los-angeles-animal-services-confisates-six-shelters%e2%80%99-weapons/ Los Angeles Animal Services Confisates Six Shelters’ Weapons | Local Voter News

[...] Personnel at six of the city’s animal shelters ended up reportedly required to turn above weapons and ammunition to Los Angeles Polices Division officers Thursday underneath orders from the head of the city’s Division of Animal Providers. CBS Los Angeles [...]
Tucker

Welcome to Communist America ..
Marcus

L A City has always bowed down to the Animal Rights People for years. I use to work as an officer there. The guns were only used to euthanize injured or sick wildlife such as coyotes, deers, large cats from the hills, and rattle snakes. weapons were never used on domesticated animals. In fact the weapons were never in public view as with the state huimane officers. Now what’s going to happen when the citizen call about a coyote that just took their pet puppy or small dog. or the large rattle snake coiled up near their garage door. I guess LAPD will be called for these calls too.
rich

it says WILDLIFE charlie as is BIG CATS BEARS AND THE SUCH not cats and dogs
Corinne Anderson

Killing animals, whether with guns or other weapons, or with poison injected into their poor bodies (claiming it’s “euthanasia”), is NOT “humane.” Humans who claim killing is “humane” should kill each other, leave the poor animals alone.
silvia

It really is sad to see the GM for animal service put blame on the city employees for stealing animals when they have found that most of the so-called animals that were missing were actually just clerical errors as quick as she was to contact the media with accusing innocent people she should also make a public appology. She issued volunteers (her friends) keys and full access to animals that only city employees should have been able to access and now she wants to blame them…wow the Mayor should look into the problems she has caused instead of wasting city money on having employees sit at home when they can be doing there job. but instead she wants to start paying volunteers …come on now mayor do you not see something wrong with this picture and then you wonder why the city budget is so bad…she should have done her job right from the begining instead of worrying about shipping animals out to other states so they can adopt them out just to keep her numbers down that was money the city of l.a could have brought in
leroysmom

I read that a retired humane officer thinks the animal control officers should carry cell phones, not guns – that way they can call the LAPD for back up, or to let them put an animal out of its misery. I agree. And it really bothers me that they shoot turtles. Turtles?? http://www.ilovedogs.com/2011/08/more-than-100-weapons-seized-at-l-a-city-animal-shelters/
rex dart eskimo spy

It’s much better this way. animals are just like people. they have rights and they can be reasoned with. you dont need guns, you just need love. please make sure to hug away the pain when rabid animals find their way into populated areas.