New Ohio animal cruelty task force established

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MARYSVILLE, Ohio (AP) — A new animal cruelty task force inOhio is intended to help
overburdened humane societies respond to callsof animal neglect and abuse.The executive director of the
UnionCounty Humane Society in western Ohio says he established the AnimalCruelty Task Force of Ohio to
handle humane-agent calls in counties thatneed help.Director Steffen Baldwin says a major problem in
ruralOhio is finding humane society agents who have time to respond toanimal cruelty and neglect
complaints and that have the resources tocare for the animals once they are seized. He says it is also
difficultto find agents who have the expertise to work with authorities toprosecute owners who break the
law.Baldwin says he will resign asdirector of the humane society next month to devote his time to
thenonprofit task force, The Columbus Dispatch (http://shar.es/8Dynd)reported."Rural Ohio animal
cruelty is such a differentballgame," Baldwin said. "It’s not just John Wayne busting down
doorsand seizing dogs in cases with no food, water or shelter. It’s much morecomplicated than that in
farming communities."Baldwin and hisnew board of directors are trying to raise $120,000 for their
2014budget. The task force is recruiting people it will pay to train andthen pay to work at no cost to a
local humane society.Humanesocieties in Champaign and Hardin counties have signed contracts, andBaldwin
says he will continue to provide services in Union County, wherehe is a licensed humane agent. He has
also talked to humane societiesin other counties.Ohio law says each county can have a humaneagent, but
does not require one. A humane agent is certified throughtraining at the Ohio Peace Officer Training
Academy and appointed by aprobate judge or a mayor.Current state law requires humane agentsto live in
the counties in which they serve. But Baldwin says pendinglegislation would change that, and make
sharing resources much easier.Humanesocieties in counties such as Licking and Delaware have
multipleagents, but there is generally more work than they can handle and notenough money, said Misty
Bay, humane-services and marketing manager forthe Humane Society of Delaware County.Some rural
communitiescan’t afford to have any agents at all, said Angela Van Hoose, secretaryof the Champaign
County Humane Association. That county is among atleast a dozen rural Ohio counties that haven’t had a
humane agent foryears."We get calls all the time of things we just can’t go out on to
investigate," Van Hoose said.Law-enforcementagencies also can investigate and prosecute animal
neglect and crueltycases, but officials in the rural counties agree that other crimes oftentake
precedence..Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rightsreserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten orredistributed.

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