An animal protection group has filed a lawsuit, seeking to prevent a Spencer County shelter from reopening.
The shelter has been closed since October 2018. An employee said she was instructed by the manager to place a kitten in a freezer as a method of euthanasia.
Indiana State Police would investigate the claims but no charges were filed. Now, Maryland-based Alley Cat Allies is filing a lawsuit.
“Alley Cat Allies has made multiple attempts to help Spencer County embrace best practices and humane standards of care, only to be turned away each time, so we were left with no other options but to file this lawsuit,” said Becky Robinson, President and Founder.
“This is a necessary step to ensure that not another cat will be treated inhumanely after the shelter reopens. Spencer County must not be allowed to reopen the shelter without making fundamental improvements to ensure widely accepted basic levels of care for animals.”
Alley Cat Allies outlined three critical steps:
- The county must stop killing animals by using freezing or hypothermia and can only use humane euthanasia.
- It must adopt policies that set requirements for how the animals are cared for.
- It must fully train employees on these humane policies and standards of care.
The organization has asked the judge to stop the shelter from reopening while the legal case is pending.
“Indiana lacks humane animal sheltering and transparency. Cruel practices, including freezing cats, are in violation of existing law and will continue if laws are not enforced and if Spencer County does not adopt animal sheltering guidelines.”
