A Missaukee County man that breeds Jack Russell Terriers is under investigation after PETA looked into the conditions of the roughly 50 dogs.
A month ago activist group, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), submitted a report to the Missaukee County Sheriff’s Office after a six week long investigation into the breeder’s property.
PETA claims the conditions warrant immediate action by Sheriff Wil Yancer.
“Some of the things that I’ve seen and heard, they just don’t think that my office is acting fast enough on their allegations,” says Sheriff Yancer.
But action rests is in the hands of county prosecutor David DenHouten. Yancer says he won’t act on the breeder until there is a court order or criminal charges.
Meanwhile, Yancer says that PETA has been disrupting business at the sheriff’s office during a four day protest where one protestor was arrested.
“We had an incident yesterday where they basically were causing a disturbance in our lobby. An individual was asked to leave. She refused. She was arrested,” says Yancer. “They were blocking doorways, impeding people from getting out through those doorways. They were yelling up at our dispatch window, distracting the 911 dispatchers.”
PETA argues the protest has been peaceful so far and will continue until the dogs are removed.
“We’ve been entirely peaceful the entire time, and we’re not being disruptive. We’re not trying to get in the way of dispatch,” says PETA spokesperson, Jonathan Horn. “We’re not calling the emergency line. We’re not encouraging others to call the emergency line. This is First Amendment protected activity in a building that is open to the public.”
This is not the first time the breeder has been investigated. In 2008, roughly 85 dogs were seized in Barry County. In 2013, dogs were seized after the breeder was found to be operating without a kennel license. But unacceptable conditions was what prompted the seizure of around 170 dogs in that case.
“There was an investigation that was actually done by myself that was presented to the prosecutor also, and at the time, the prosecutor elected not to issue criminal charges,” says Sheriff Yancer. “There was some supporting documentation from a local vet that basically said that maybe conditions were rough, but it wasn’t to the level that it was criminal.”
Yancer says he’s been to the property already and said the conditions are ‘subpar.’
“It’s hard to work on it for my department, because we’re law enforcement officers, we’re not animal control officers,” says Yancer. “We don’t deal with those types of calls, so we’re not schooled on the animal control laws like we are the criminal laws.”
PETA is calling on the Missaukee County Sheriff’s Office, Missaukee County Prosecutor and Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, who oversees licensing, to make an arrest and seize the animals.
“This needs to be the last time he needs to have his license revoked, and he needs to never be allowed to to have animals in this care again,” says Horn.
Prosecutor DenHouten did not return calls for comment on any possible charges.
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