Saturday, October 22, 2016

Nevada: Animal control seizes 21 horses, 43 birds in possible cruelty case

NEVADA -- An alleged case of animal cruelty is creating quite the controversy. It's shaping up as a he-said she-said type disagreement and the former "cowboy commissioner" Tom Collins is involving himself, accusing the police and animal control of 'overreaching their authority'.

POLICE OFFICERS INITIATED THE COMPLAINT
Metro Police said officers were at the residence on Fairhaven Street, near Decatur and Lake Mead boulevards, on another investigation when they encountered the animals and contacted animal control and code enforcement.

 

According to Metro, the animals were living in conditions which were likely to cause sickness, injury or death. After responding to the property at the request of the police, Clark County Animal Control officials seized 21 horses and 43 chickens after inspecting the property and agreeing with police that the inhumane living conditions amounted to a violation of animal cruelty.


Debbie Linihan says she boarded two horses at the property for several years but recently moved them due to an argument with the owner, but not due to conditions. Linihan says, "there were absolutely no underfed horses, there was always water. I never saw any abuse with the horses."

Debbie Linihan clearly doesn't understand animal welfare laws. Animal cruelty and neglect is NOT just about starved animals, Debbie. If you are confining an animal in inhumane conditions (e.g. cat hoarding), it is a crime.

Former Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins says the property owner has been warned multiple times by the county to bring the property up to code.

 

Collins says, "the property is rundown, it's got some weeds, but that property is not, in my opinion negligent to the point where code enforcement has gone in there. Some of those horses are worth tens of thousands of dollars. Clark County Animal Control had no legal right to confiscate those horses."

Collins says the county only has jurisdiction if animals are loose or in clearly visible cruel conditions. Collins believes the horses are in great shape and the animals and their owners shouldn't be punished for issues between the county and the property owner as long as the animals are healthy.

Collins says, "I can guarantee you, 1000% that the chickens that were running free on that property where happier than they are now in a building waiting to be euthanized."

Just like Debbie Linihan, Tom Collins doesn't understand animal cruelty and neglect. No one is saying the animals were being starved. No one is saying there were starved, dead animals lying all over the place. The conditions the animals were living in, according to the police and animal control, amounted to animal neglect. The animals were taken into protective custody. 

If and when the animals' owners show up at the shelter with proof of ownership, I fully expect that they'll be released to them with instructions to take and house the animals somewhere OTHER than this facility. 

  
  
  

After we spoke with former commissioner Collins, we contacted the county for their response. They have not yet had a chance to give us their side of the story.

Police believe some of the animals may belong to other people as the facility boarded animals. They are asking anyone who may have an animal at the Fairhaven location, to contact Lied Animal Foundation.

TOM COLLINS IN THE NEWS
 • In 1991, he was charged with reckless driving after crashing a truck he was driving, injuring himself and two other men. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge.

 • Collins had a pair of misdemeanor battery convictions in 1992.

 • On July 3, 2012, Collins’ neighbors called North Las Vegas police after hearing at least seven shots from his property. Collins shot a tree and a wooden post with a handgun and was shouting, according to the police report. The “cowboy commissioner” did not face criminal charges because the attorney general’s office declined to prosecute.

 • In August 2012, his bull escaped his property and injured a 42-year-old woman, landing Collins in North Las Vegas Municipal Court, where he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of disturbing the peace and livestock at large. It is unknown what, if any, financial payment was made to the injured woman who had to be hospitalized.

 • In April 2014, national attention turned to Bunkerville when rancher Cliven Bundy’s feud with federal agents over their seizure of his cattle prompted militias to rally in his support. Darin Bushman, a Piute County, Utah, commissioner, called Collins about the matter. Afterward, Bushman posted on Facebook that Collins said Utahns are “inbred bastards” and if they come to Clark County to support Bundy they “better have funeral plans.” Collins claimed he was quoted incorrectly but publicly apologized at a Clark County Commission meeting saying, “I’ve been in a downward spiral for a couple of years, I admit it.”

 • In May 2014, Collins got caught in a profanity-laced conversation deriding his fellow commissioners when the Review-Journal obtained a recording of his conversation with then-Las Vegas Township Constable John Bonaventura. Commissioners had unanimously voted to abolish the embattled office.

 • In January 2016, former Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins (whose legal name is Clarence Weldon Collins Jr.) pleaded no contest Tuesday to driving under the influence in connection with a December car crash. — Las Vegas Review-Journal

(LasVegasNow - Oct 21, 2016)

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