Lawrence County animal shelter a 'crime scene;' ASPCA takes custody of nearly 300 animals

ALABAMA -- The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has taken possession of nearly 300 animals from the Lawrence County animal shelter as law enforcement officials continue to investigate their alleged mistreatment.

The shelter has been shut down since Moulton police investigators executed a search warrant on Monday and found about three times the number of animals that former director Bobbie Taylor claimed were there.

 

Taylor signed over control of the animals to the ASPCA Tuesday evening, AL.com news partner WHNT News 19 reports. Her $80,000-per-year contract to run the shelter expired at midnight Wednesday.

"By doing that we're able to go ahead and get vets on them and start taking care of their needs," Moulton Police Chief Lyndon McWhorter told the television station.

 

  

  

  

The Lawrence County Commission cut ties with Taylor on Friday in an emergency meeting held after the initial allegations of abuse and neglect surfaced.

ASPCA workers were on hand Tuesday to take care of the animals' immediate needs and to help with the criminal investigation. According to ASPCA officials, the agency's own experts are collecting and analyzing forensic evidence and providing legal support to the police department to help strengthen the criminal case.

 

Hours were spent Tuesday moving the animals to bigger, clean cages obtained from Morgan County. Police officers and about 30 ASPCA workers were continuing that task on Wednesday as county officials work to find a 30,000- to 50,000-square-foot facility in which to house the animals while the investigation into Taylor's actions continues.

Agencies assisting the ASPCA with the operation include groups from Tennessee, Virginia and Massachusetts.

 

The ASPCA's Medical Animal Surgical Hospital, a custom-built, mobile animal clinic, is allowing vets to offer care, including surgery, on the scene, which has been closed to anyone but investigators and volunteers caring for the animals.

"This is a truly tragic situation," said Tim Rickey, vice president for ASPCA Field Investigations and Response. "It was immediately clear upon entering the facility that these animals have been severely neglected. Our goal is to provide them with much-needed medical attention and socialization.
Eventually, we hope to place them with responsible shelters that have the means to care for them and find them homes."

 

Flies swarming on a kiddie pool full of cat feces

WHNT reports that at least one dog died on Tuesday after being rushed, visibly ill, to the vet.
McWhorter told the Times-Daily that several already-dead dogs were also found at the shelter.

The conditions at the animal shelter, which Taylor ran out of her own home, came under scrutiny last week after a former volunteer came forward with video and pictures of emaciated dogs crammed into cages too small for them at the facility.

  

Caleb Scott, the volunteer who filed the criminal complaint against Taylor, also produced video that showed the former shelter director punching a dog in the head.

Taylor claimed she was breaking up a fight between two dogs in the video. She also claimed that animals were only kept in smaller cages when they were initially brought into the shelter.

(AL.com - July 1, 2015)

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