The board president of the local Animal Welfare Society says his group is in a cat fight with the county's Animal Control office.
Howard County police went to the society's facility in Columbia this week and took away several animals because of allegations of neglect and cruelty. The head of the nonprofit society's board blames the search and seizure on "personalities and political stuff" between it and its Long Reach neighbor, the Animal Control agency.
"It's very unfortunate," said Edward Rogers, board president. "If they just called and said they wanted to come over, that would have been fine. It actually comes down to personalities and political stuff."
Officials at Animal Control, a division of the police department, wouldn't respond to Mr. Rogers' comments. Police spokesman Sgt. Steve Keller wouldn't say whose complaint prompted the search on Tuesday afternoon, but said that the information was strong enough to justify the inspection.
He said that the five cats and two parrots removed from the property because of suspected neglect are being cared for by Animal Control.
Mr. Rogers said that the accusations of neglect "will prove baseless. I don't have concerns that any of this will bear out."
During their search, officers also seized a small amount of sodium pentobarbital, a drug used to euthanize animals. Police said the Animal Welfare Society did not have the permits needed to carry the drug.
Mr. Rogers said that the society had let its permits lapse because it had stopped destroying animals, but had failed to get rid of the chemicals.
"The stuff should have been disposed of properly," he said. "I have no problem with that."
The welfare society has stopped euthanizing animals, he said, because it decided not to duplicate the services of its county-run neighbor.
Last week, he said, shelter employees took some cats and dogs to the Animal Control facility to be destroyed. He said that his group stopped destroying animals a short time before, but would not specify when or give the date its permits expired.
Mr. Rogers suggested that some of the tension between the two groups may involve the differing management theories held by the two facilities -- one a private nonprofit group, the other a county agency.
The Animal Welfare Society houses and provides adoption services for unwanted pets. County-funded Animal Control cares for animals and investigates attacks, cruelty and neglect of both wildlife and domestic animals.
At the time of the police search, five cats, about six dogs and a few small animals were being housed at the society's shelter. Police said that the cats were removed so that they could be examined for respiratory illnesses, which Mr. Rogers called common.
The two birds taken were removed from the shelter manager's private home, which is on the same land. Police also took away seven dead animals from the society's freezer, Mr. Rogers said.