Local NPO Asks Court to Enjoin PG County to Obey the Law

Prince Georges Feral Friends, SPCA
PO Box 1036, Bowie, MD 20718
(301) 262-6452 / www.PGFerals.org

Prince Georges Feral Friends, SPCA is the home of:
PG Adopt-A-Classroom     --     Compassion Watch TV
Holistic Health Care for Pets     --     No Kill Prince George's County, MD

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 22, 2013

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Timothy W. Saffell
TimSaffell@PGFerals.org
301-262-6452

Local Non-Profit Asks Circuit Court
to Enjoin Prince George's County
Animal Management Division
to Obey the Law

Upper Marlboro, MD. Today, Prince Georges Feral Friends, SPCA, filed a Motion for Enforcement of the Declaratory Judgment and Order which was signed on January 3, 2012 by Circuit Court Judge Sherrie M. Krauser.

In July, 2010, PGFF SPCA filed suit against PG County, asking the judge to clarify the meaning of the law governing feral cats and their caretakers. The judge handed down a Declaratory Judgment and Order, signed on January 3, 2012, agreeing with PGFF SPCA, that feeders do not become owners, and can not be held responsible for licensing, vaccinating, abandonment, or running at-large.

In spite of the ruling, Animal Management Division (AMD) lied about the outcome of the case on the County's official website, and doubled down on the unconstitutional enforcement by telling residents of the county that "It is illegal to feed", "If you feed, you claim ownership", "Since you feed, you must license, vaccinate, and keep them from running at-large". County officials claimed that the judge's ruling applied only to PGFF, claiming that the ruling does not apply to all of the other county residents.

On Monday, April 22, 2013, PGFF SPCA filed a Motion for Enforcement of the judge's order, including supporting documents from half a dozen individuals who have been targets of AMD. It points out that, in the court's 2012 ruling, ...

The court could have expressly stated some of the applicable law encompassed in the order, but didn't because to do so would have been redundant and, one would imagine, humiliating to AMD:

For example,

  • AMD is, hereby, enjoined to conduct itself as a law enforcement agency; and,

    further,

  • AMD, as a law enforcement agency, is hereby enjoined to know that the Animal Control Provisions of the Prince George's County Code are public law; and,

    further,

  • AMD, as a law enforcement agency, is hereby enjoined to know that public law applies to all residents, not only the parties to this suit; and

    further,

  • AMD is hereby enjoined to know and enforce the law and act in good faith.”

PGFF SPCA simply proposes that AMD stop falsely informing citizens that feeding confers ownership and discontinue all warnings, citations, and fines which are based on this false information. PGFF SPCA also proposes that AMD publish factual information about the rights of Good Samaritans to engage in lawful acts.

Timothy Saffell, President of PGFF, SPCA said, "To operate by the Rule of Law is the most basic level of integrity that the taxpayers of Prince George's County expect of the County Government. This failure is a clear sign of the crisis in leadership in the County."

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