Protesters Demonstrate Outside Animal Control Facility After Release Of Video Showing Dog Dragged By Staff
(CBS) -- Protesters targeted Chicago's Animal Care and Control facility Saturday following the city's release of a video, forced by a judge, showing workers in the facility mishandling a dog that the Better Government Association says was choked to death.
WBBM's Mike Krauser reports they held signs reading "Doge lives matter" and "Animals lives matter." Activist Terry Gidwitz says the need to do a better job training employees, killing fewer animals and treating them humanely.
"This is the canine version of what we've been seeing with the police department with Laquan McDonald," Gidwitz said. "Much smaller scale of course. It's reminiscent of the same thought process, 'we'll just hide this. Nobody will know.'"
Marie Perkins thinks state law needs to be changed.
"Animals are not things, they are not properties," Perkins said. "They are living creatures. When you stop treating them as property and treating them as the sentient loving beings that they are, then things are going to change."
On the day the video was released Chicago Animal Care and Control's acting director, Ivan Capifali, said in a written statement: "CACC is dedicated to caring for the more than 20,000 animals brought to our shelter each year and assisting in ensuring public health and safety as it relates to animals. In any matter where we identify potential employee error or misconduct, the commission follows established protocols to look into the matter and determine whether any policy changes are necessary.
"Following a review of the episode that occurred in March of 2014, CACC quickly disciplined three employees and provided special training on animal handling to CACC employees. In fact, a video on animal handling that was created by CACC in partnership with the National Animal Care and Control Association (NACA) is not only shown to all new CACC staff, it is now used by NACA in training nationwide."