Petitioning Stephens County – Enforce Animal Cruelty Laws and Stop the Castration of Pets Without Sedation and Without a License to Practice Veterinary Medicine

Animal Advocates of Toccoa, GA

Here in Toccoa, Stephens County, Georgia in early November 2014, Mr. Daniel Hebert castrated two kittens in his high school agriculture class, with the students holding the cats down as they struggled. He was not a veterinarian. He used no sedation. He gave the kittens tylenol or ibuprofen and used lidocaine. Animal Control issued two citations of animal cruelty. County Commissioners Michelle Grafton and Dennis Bell questioned the legality of the citations. Animal Shelter Board Member Angie Garland says Hebert shouldn’t lose his job; that barn cats are different from house cats. The case was headed to Magistrate Court, but has been postponed.

On December 26, 2014, a woman attempted to neuter her step-daughter’s dog with a razor blade after watching a how-to internet video.  The dog was taken to a veterinarian after extreme blood loss and was hospitalized for three days. Sheriff Randy Shirley declined to press charges, saying that she had a history of employment in the medical field and that there was no direct evidence supporting the dog felt any particular level of pain during or after the procedure.

People who have spoken out against this travesty have been ridiculed and bullied. If you are horrified of these actions, please sign this petition and tell them that this is not acceptable. We need your help!

To sign this petition and see additional updates regarding the situation, click here!