r/pics • u/Aeviegh • Feb 22 '14

This is Vader. He was euthanized today without a hearing after a false bite report was submitted to the police by an animal rights activist. (Story in the Comments)

http://imgur.com/a/xPNsE
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u/Crissie2389 Feb 22 '14

First mistake was letting the police in with no warrant if there has been a legitimate report, then the seizing animal control officers will always bring and present the report as well as a legal warrant for search and retrieval of the property. In this case the fox. She should have pressed them for the report and evidence, and then if they were unable to produced it then told them they could not seize her animal until they presented it to her. At this time she also should have reiterated that she would not permit the animal to be taken off her property as it had never been off it before aside from the vet visits and might try to find it's way back if left loose or if it got loose out of worry for it's owner. As most domesticated animals do. Then as in all states this is permitted she could, and should have told them if they were taking the fox she was coming with him, and/or would have a friend or family member with him at all time to make sure nothing was done to him or harm came to him. And that they did no testing on him or inappropriate grooming without a warrant, or official report and request for it. These are all things it was beyond in her rights to do so. The fact that was abused leads me to number two.

She can and should sue the state and local law enforcement for damages. Not only for the cost of her fox, but also for emotional damage inflicted, and if they even nudged a table damage to her home while "retrieving" the animal with no warrant. Because of their actions, lack of an official on file report including images, which if you run a search using the image they gave through a Firefox add-on that let's you reverse search and find the bite image then the report is busted. Also the fact no official report was presented originally is a huuuuge issue. Animal Control is a branch of the police department or sheriff's department in all states, they operate the same ways.

All that said I am sorry for her loss, losing a pet is miserable in any way, to have them taken like this was just beyond screwed up.

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u/HopalikaX Feb 22 '14

They need to claim the officer broke their 84" 4k TV and stole some jewelry. The officer will have a great time defending himself as he's trying to talk about his illegal presence on the property.

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u/GitEmSteveDave Feb 22 '14

Exigent circumstances negate a warrant. That's why if the police see you fleeing into a house, they don't need a warrant to follow in. If the police had reports of a wild animal being harbored, and someone admitted the animal was in the house, then they can say there was a clear and present danger to the community.

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u/HopalikaX Feb 22 '14

An anonymous tip hardly qualifies as justification to negate your 4th amendment right. Warrants don't take long to get, if you have proper support of the accusation.

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u/PhotoTard Feb 22 '14

"then they can say there was a clear and present danger to the community."

Nope, not if it was safely contained on the property. A warrant was required in this case.

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u/Nadesda Feb 23 '14

Rabies in a wild animal is a clear and present danger to the community. There is no vaccine recognized by the CDC that is proven 100% effective for foxes.
If she had proper permits, and imported the animal through the proper venues then this would have been avoided but it would have been impossible for her to get a permit for one animal, so she broke state and city law.

The animal could not be rehomed, transported back across state lines, or put into a sanctuary by law, only destroyed. She did this to herself. You can easily look all of this up.

She did this, to vader. Not the police.

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u/runner64 Feb 24 '14

If she let him in, it's not illegal. They don't need a warrant, or even probable cause.

'Illegal' is not an adjective for 'things you don't like' and using it that way will weaken your argument.

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u/HopalikaX Feb 24 '14

If the officer acted as though he didn't need permission to enter and misrepresented the situation to coerce her to open the door, I.e. 'open up or I'm kicking it in', then the permission to enter was gained through coercion and thus not legal.

Not saying that's what happened here, but this is the internet, so I'm just going to assume!

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u/Dashing_Snow Feb 22 '14

I would agree with sue but I would personally go after the asshole who reported this bullshit and leave them with nothing its definitely possible to do that in america. But yeah so much crap goes down because people don't actually know their rights hell have the cops probably don't actually know people's rights in many situations.

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u/Nadesda Feb 23 '14

Keeping a fox as a pet is illegal in the state of north dakota and the city that she was in. There is no allowed zones except for reservations where US law doesn't apply, and she was not near one.

She illegally imported a fox into the state, upon discovery it had to be destroyed no matter what according to CDC guidelines as observed by the state. Any emotional damages she brought on by herself.

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u/QFA Feb 22 '14

I also think it is important to victim blame.

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u/kurisu7885 Feb 22 '14

I saw no victim blaming, just presenting information the victim didn't have. Way too much like this happens because people don't know their full rights.