Work to do to correct illegal breeding in Lee County - Beside the Point

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Close to 300 animals were taken from a home in rural Lee County over the last several weeks.

Three hundred animals.

At one point I had three cats at the same time and it was way too much, but they all were members of a loving home, well fed, warm, and definitely not a source of income, and not caged.

There are legitimate breeders out there, some even in this area, who do things by the book and welcome law enforcement at any time for inspections.

Investigators with the Lee County Sheriff's office built a case in Argyle and then conducted searches with everyone's best interests at heart, including the family involved in hording the animals.

It wasn't that long ago that the sheriff's department was chasing loose cows around the county and asking the officials for an ordinance to give them more power to motivate farmers and animal owners to get things under control.

The great thing about that situation is that the light that was brought upon the situation brought the industry to the table and it actually self-corrected. Legitimate, responsible livestock owners came to the table, actually demanded an audience with law enforcement, and then helped resolve a situation that, short of that, probably would have imposed tighter restrictions on their herds as well.

That same effort is now required to address mistreatment of animals in our county.

Breeding is a legitimate source of revenue but it must be handled with decency, compassion, and a never-ending focus on the welfare of all, pets and humans. One has to wonder what the health impact has been on the family that lived in that home, as well as the animals. And when children are involved, there's a whole new level to the urgency of correction.

So now it's time for breeders, legitimate breeders, to come to the table and help establish a framework for a business conducted in a manner that we should all expect... and monitor.

After all, freedoms are privileges lost when abused. We can all scream about overreach, but when things don't improve through internal and natural means, that's when external pressure and regulation become a requirement.

This seizure near Argyle was ultimately uncovered because someone told someone, who told someone, who told someone. That reporting needs to continue.

The other part of this is the commerce. Weber may have said it best, yet politely, when he said as Americans we tend to want things on the cheap and that creates the profitability of black market operations. If we stick to purchasing from licensed breeders with solid reputations for safe and humane treatment of all animals, we spur that retail economy and reward those cognizant efforts at commerce.

As the saying goes, anything else really is uncivilized.

The Animal Rescue League of Iowa was a Godsend for those animals. Many of these animals were not treated humanely and now almost all of them are in a place where they are being cared for and relocated to places where they can live out their lives.

I think we're actually fortunate that this came to light when it did and was resolved the way it was. Sheriff Stacy Weber said he now wants to work with county officials and breeders to craft a county law that addresses black market, unlicensed breeders in the county.

We agree. All counties should have something on the books that gives broad powers of inspection and correction to law enforcement, especially in a rural, poorer county like Lee County. When deputies have such a large footprint in terms of square miles, 550 to be exact, it's impossible to see everything.

So when they do, they can't be encumbered with waiting for this agency - or that warrant. They have to be able to take action. These animals were fortunate that the process worked as it did and so are we.

Humanity, as weird as it sounds, isn't just for humans.

Speaking of being human, the redistricting that took place last week that threw the election for supervisor into an 18-hour tailspin, could have come at a quicker pace. Election officials were forced to look very quickly at new districts and how they impact elections. Fortunately the right questions were asked and the issue of who is actually up for election was resolved - but that's Beside the Point.

animals, beside the point, black market, breeding, Chuck Vandenberg, editorial, illegal, iowa, lee county, Pen City Current, sheriff

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