COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The Branch County Sheriff’s Department has posted figures on their Facebook page on the number of animals that the County Animal Control Officer has taken in and euthanized since 2010. The department received a request from a local resident to post the statistics provided by Animal Control Officer Ernie Baker.
The number of animals put down has decreased dramatically in recent years. In 2010, 577 animals were taken in with 123 put down. A total of 488 animal were taken in during 2011with 119 put down.The numbers dropped in 2012 to 453 taken and only 16 euthanized.
Just seven animals have been put down since 2013 with six of them occurring in 2014.
Branch County and state statutes say any person who finds and harbors an animal without knowing the identity of its owner shall notify the Animal Shelter and furnish a description of the animal within two business days of finding the animal. If the owner of the animal has not claimed it within seven business days after it was reported found to the Animal Control Department, the finder may adopt the animal in accordance with applicable laws.
Branch County Animal Control’s gas chamber drew fire from critics last September during a Branch County Board of Commissioners meeting. The critics wanted the practice to put down dogs in the county ended and the machine taken out of service.
