Arkansas Mayor Arrested for Animal Cruelty
Last Update: 7/01/08 5:52 pm
HELENA-WEST HELENA, AR – The mayor of Helena-West Helena has been arrested for animal cruelty after ordering the release of stray dogs into a National Forrest.
The dogs were being held at a make-shift pound at the city’s sanitation department after the local Humane Society shut down the city pound. On June 11th, Mayor James Valley ordered about a dozen dogs be released near the Saint Francis National Forrest.
A warrant for Valley’s arrest was issued on charges of animal cruelty. Valley says the charges are not about the dogs, but about humans with “vendettas”. Valley says Ruby Burton, the director of the Humane Society of Southeastern Arkansas, was “down here busting over gates and climbing over fences or whatever she did. That’s why she’s called a renegade, 'cause she violated the law in doing that. She should be the person whose under arrest for trespassing, interfering with government operations and all the other stuff she’s done in the community.”
Valley says the charges do not upset him nearly as much a broken promises made by Burton and the Humane Society. Valley says, “they promised they were going to come and get dogs adopted. Promised they were going to spay and neuter. Promised they were going to do a host of things. They did none and they still haven’t.”
According to Valley, he released the dogs because they were better off running in the wild than living in the conditions they were put in after the humane society shut down the city pound.
“Nobody has come forth and argued that they were in better condition with the city than they are now. Nobody could ever try to make that argument with a strait face, because those animals were not,” said Valley.
Ruby Burton told Eyewitness News Everywhere she hopes this case will be a lesson to everyone to be more responsible when it come to owning and caring for animals.
Valley never went to jail and was released on his own recognizance with no bond. He is facing misdemeanor animal cruelty charges, which carry up to one year in jail or a $1000 fine.