I apologize for this being somewhat off topic. It was sent to me by my mother, who is a member of a Scotty Dog message board. I have no idea if the shelter in question ever handles ferrets, or indeed, any other animal besides dogs or cats, but because this list is full of animal lovers of all kinds, in all areas, I thought it would be an interesting read for many. Because if size limitations, I had to cut the Press Release from the end. If anyone would like to read it, or wants a copy of it, let me know, and I'll send along my copy. Melissa Barnes -->Begin Clip I don't know how many of you are aware, but Atlanta animal welfare advocates have been trying for over 10 years to make reforms at the Fulton County Animal Shelter, which is managed by the Atlanta Humane Society (AHS had $19.9 million dollars in assets and $6.1 million dollars in income in year 2000). The Atlanta Humane Society DOES NOT ALLOW THE PUBLIC TO ENTER the Fulton shelter to adopt animals, hence, almost every dog or cat not reclaimed by its owner is killed. They only transfer 5% of the animals to their private facility for potential adoption each year, though many of those are also euthanized once they go through "triage" at AHS. The remaining pets at the Fulton Shelter that are not quickly reclaimed by their owners are killed -usually within 72 hours. They refuse to scan for microchips and we have been told by pet owners that Fulton shelter employees have said that they would not even call them if their pet came in with personal ID tags. They have also refused to work with rescue groups. The Fulton County Animal control ordinance states that they are supposed to be working with licensed rescuers and recently the Fulton County authorities have even told them that they must must work with licensed rescue groups, but they still won't. The last time a group tried was a few weeks ago - one Atlanta rescue group went to both the Fulton Shelter and Atlanta Humane Society with their veterinarian, their 501c3 paperwork and their Department of Agriculture license to rescue and asked to fill out the paperwork that would allow them to rescue animals. They were turned away from both facilities and told that neither shelter work with rescue groups. About 4 months ago, a local TV station aired a "Whistleblower Report" about the Atlanta Humane Society. Three former employees went on air and stated that the Atlanta Humane Society was misleading the public with false adoption statistics and false claims about cruelty investigations, an ambulance service and a 24 hour clinic. Since that time, animal welfare advocates are once again attempting to make reforms at the Fulton County Animal Shelter. We need to find a way to let the pet lovers out there know what is going on in Atlanta. Therefore, we would greatly appreciate it if you would forward this email to every dog related email list that you are on and ask EVERYONE on these on lists to send the press release below to ALL media contacts that they have. On behalf of the homeless animals in Atlanta, we thank you. [P.S.] OK, silly me. I post the bit about the shelter in Atlanta, and then I say that you can email me for a copy of the press release. Well, I will be on vacation until Tuesday, April 9th, and I have no idea whether I will be able to check my email while gone or not. So if you email me in the meantime, and don't get a response right away, thats why. Please forgive me. Melissa Barnes Mira, Tasha, Robin, Samurai, Nietzsche and O'Dell Missing Cael and Booboo always ===== Melissa www.geocities.com/lostferrets [Posted in FML issue 3742]