During the course of a normal day at the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, deputies deal with a variety of calls and concerns including those concerning farm animals.
According to Sheriff Dotson, Deputies routinely get calls of cattle or horses in the highway, most of these calls are handled quickly with the assistance of the animals owners. A log of farm animal owners is kept in the Lawrence County Dispatch Office so that the animal owners can be contacted in the event of loose livestock. Sheriff Dotson urges farm animal owners to keep their information current and updated.
Another area of concern according to Sheriff Dotson is calls concerning animals that are being mistreated or malnourished. Sheriff’s Deputies receive these calls and give extra effort towards resolving these matters. In recent months, the Sheriff’s Office has cited negligent owners into court and even had animals removed and placed in the care of animal rescue officials. Other incidents include owners having to move animals to better grazing areas with more space for the animals to roam.
One area of concern is horses, horses can be very expensive and require large areas to graze. According to Sheriff Dotson, areas of less than one acre have been found to house as many as 4 or 5 horses. Animals found in these types of situation are often starved, have little or no water and no natural vegetation to eat. The department has even dealt with incidents involving the deaths of horses.
Animal Cruelty charges carry hefty fines which can include imprisonment.
For more information on the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, visit www.