Here's another - Nearly 400 animals found dead in FL - Page 1

He hadn't been arrested for animal cruelty SINCE the '90s.

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36610709/ns/local_news-orlando_fl/

Well....someone will just scream...AR Activists, PETA, and any other conspiracy theory & group that can be thought of...
Oh...lets not forget..."Poor guy...he's mentally unstable....maybe he can finally get the help he needs"....
NEWS FLASH!.....ALL abusers are "mentally unstable"......it doesn't change the facts and harm they have caused....and WILL continue to cause, if allowed..
There are those that "acknowledge their instability & problem, AND WANT HELP"...and there are those that "REFUSE to accept responsibility & DO NOT THINK THEY NEED HELP'......
I am reading more and more about this crap......just plain sickening.

Once a scumbag, always a scumbag.

I work in the mental health field, and while I can thoroughly understand the thought process that an animal hoarder uses to  justify their actions, that doesn't make it okay.  The difficulty is that most people who hoard don't think they have a problem - in those cases the animal control and law enforcement need to step in to protect the welfare of the animals.  There's not really a good solution - until a person really sees that they need help their behavior will not change.  It's usually necessary to ban people from owning animals in order to protect the animals, and continually follow up to make sure they are following the terms of the sentence.

Most people who run legitimate rescues follow the laws pertaining to such activities - they have a kennel license or keep the number of animals below whatever the limit is in their jurisdiction. 

Even if a person has a mental illness, they should experience the natural consequences for their behavior.  If they break the law there are punishments that are spelled out.  Hopefully they will be able to get treatment to help make positive changes, but that doesn't always happen.  It's not just animals either - there have been a number of accidents here recently caused by people on their 5th, 6th or 7th DUI and those are just the ones they've been charged with.  Until the consequences are severe enough people won't change.  Having hope for change doesn't mean letting people continue bad behavior regardless of the cause.


Opal

" He hadn't been arrested for animal cruelty SINCE the '90s."


A leopard doesn't change it's spots....sounds like someone else on here...that we have been discussing...

Seriously, these offenders need to be on a list like sexual offenders and monitored for years, maybe forever after they get out. Killed a Florida Panther? Hello, they were thought to be extinct for years, that is how rare they are. He should have done yrs for that offense alone.

Now I'm curious as to his punishment back in the 90's. Lemme guess...less than a month in jail and a small fine. The $200 fine DDR was made to pay is just horseshit. You get hit harder than that for running a red light.

The Florida case sounds like hoarding. Hoarding is a strange variety of obsessive-compulsive disorder. There's medication for it, but they have to keep taking it. I agree that such offenders should be monitored for life because hoarders and animal abusers so often repeat their crimes. And they should be put on a list like the sex offender list which is available to the public so that they never get their hands on animals again. My emotions say "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" - chain these abusers up in a public square and let the public have at 'em. Stone them. Given the lax penalties for such crimes, outrage like this is only natural.

Unfortunately, the laws governing the treatment of mentally ill people usually reject forcing them to take meds for the rest of their lives. These well-meaning, naive laws assume that people have the "right" to be mentally ill and not only innocent animals but also sometimes innocent people unnecessarily become victims. No common sense was applied in the making of such laws. 

To get the animal abuse laws changed in the states, and that's where the laws covering these crimes are made, you have to get a state representative on your side to introduce a bill in the state legislature and you have to work to convince other legislators that it is a real problem and they should vote for the bill. You have to convince them that their constituents want such legislation, which means lots of people calling and writing them in organized campaigns.  It's a lot of work but it can be done.

Sam1427,

Excellent post.

I also believe that most people in cases like this are not going to change. Especially if they can not accept that what they did was wrong. How can one heal when they feel they did nothing wrong, is beyond me. I also believe that because of their mental state they will never stop unless they are stopped. They will continue to hoard and abuse.


2 thumbs up.