Stafford Family Ruined by Animal Rights Terrorists

I haven't posted to this blog in quite some time now that I am nationally published on Joe For America and other sources, but a recent story of a terrible injustice out of Stafford, Virginia has me picking up my pen yet again to contribute here.

I have written long and hard about how animal rights ideology and the very terrorists themselves from that movement have taken over our legal system and perverted justice in America.   My home state, the Commonwealth of Virginia, is dominated and controlled by terrorists.  They control the Virginia legislature, the Attorney General, the Governor, the state Veterinary Office, the County Sheriffs, Prosecutors, and Animal Control Officers.  The Virginia State Legislature is so controlled and dominated by these terrorists that State Delegate Rob Bell is in fact famous for sponsoring and getting passed a new Civil Asset Forfeiture Law for Animals.  Every year someone in the legislature sponsors a bill to create an animal "cruelty" registry to list and out your grandfather for targeting by vigilante action.   I've written how Virginia Animal Control Officers receive their training from criminals, quacks, and sex perverts and have no knowledge or training on animals from actual animal experts.  I've written how the Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring has embraced these terrorists and formed a new group to destroy the Commonwealth's residents.  

There isn't a county in the entire Commonwealth that is safe for animal owners to live in.   I've written two books on Fauquier County, Virginia, Staring the Dragon in the Eye, and my recently released book, F'cker County: The Peyton Place of the Piedmont, filled with cases of the animal rights terrorism front destroying animal owners in that county alone.  Just this month, the corrupt County Board of Supervisors gave a "Citizen of the Year" award to the most damaging animal rights activist in the entire northern Virginia area, Hilleary Bogley.  Bogley has ruined countless lives in her long campaign to end animal ownership.  She alone is a poster child for abuse of the Humane Investigator program.  It's not just Fauquier County, its everywhere in the state.  

As the entire world knows, PETA is running rampant on the eastern part of the state stealing people's animals and killing them.  The Commonwealth does nothing about it.   People complain to Virginia state legislators endlessly, they don't listen.   PETA continues to kill.  Finally in 2015, the state gave them a $500 fine.   Big whoopie.  PETA continues to kill at their Norfolk slaughterhouse and the Virginia legislature turns their backs.  A poor family has now sued PETA for stealing and slaughtering their family pet.

In Frederick County, Virginia, the corrupt Sheriff and his pals raided a purebred Arabian horse breeder who was an equine certified veterinarian. The victim in this case was a horse expert. The Sheriff and Prosecutor used the Henneke Body Scale against the victim to declare that she was abusing animals. The problem is, Dr. Henneke has issued a public statement refuting the use of the Henneke Scale in ANY animal cruelty or neglect case.  The Sheriff was simply policing for profit.  This owner had valuable animals, and someone else wanted them.  A life was ruined for no reason.

"Over the past decade, the Body Condition Scoring System for Horses (BCS) has become, in many if not most cases, the sole reason for seizure for neglect or abuse. The problem with this is that the BCS was not designed to reflect the health or well-being of the horse." 

Dr. Henneke.

In Page County, the Sheriff invited in a California based vigilante squad run by guess what? A high school dropout with no education in animals (but he loves strippers!), to help him raid a dog breeder. This group had no legal authority to come into Virginia and operate. Many of the stolen dogs were then shipped out of Virginia for resale.   As I wrote about in The Art of Terror:  Inside the Animal Rights Movement, in Virginia Beach, animal control brought a good Samaritan up on animal cruelty charges after she objected to their death rate at their shelter in a vicious form of payback.

Or how about Botetourt County, where a long time SPCA volunteer was brought up on animal cruelty charges because an animal rights veterinarian disagreed with her veterinarians diagnosis. Get that? She wasn't cruel to an animal. She was treating the dog in accordance with what her vet told her to do. In fact, this victim was so well loved in her community that local prosecutors refused to charge her. But don't worry, Michelle Welch, an animal rights activist out of the Virginia Attorney General's Office, stepped in to rectify that and filed charges anyway.

In Virginia, as of 2010, it is established case law that all dog owners are guilty of animal cruelty if they fail to brush their dogs teeth.  In Fairfax County in 2015, they have outlawed the use of a dog leash for more than one cumulative hour in a 24 hour period, making people who exercise their dogs, criminals.  It is now a crime of "animal cruelty" to walk your dog too much in Fairfax County.  

Now in Stafford, Virginia, a family is in hell after the father has been arrested, tried, and found guilty of animal cruelty for failing to kill their dog, who was dying of terminal cancer, just as fast as some paper pushing bureaucrat wanted the dog killed.   

Animal cruelty used to mean that a human being was being physically cruel to an animal.  That they beat an animal.  Mistreated an animal.  That an animal suffered actual physical damage as a result of a human's actions.  But today, under an animal rights world, the definition of cruelty has changed.  It was been twisted into something unnatural and perverted by animal rights extremists.  Under this new idea of what is "cruel" to an animal, every day American families are being destroyed.  Their very lives ruined for ideology.   Their families suffering.  Their children's lives impacted as they witness their parents arrested and put on trial for cases in which no animal was ever harmed. 

Now in Stafford County a family suffers.  Their beloved dog, their families companion, was diagnosed with cancer.  You know what?  We are all going to die of something eventually.  Every one of us.

THIS is what happens when animal rights terrorists control the legal system.   This is what happens when a dog is no longer your property but some dubious ward of the state.  When you are your dogs guardian, not its owner.  A family is put through hell. A father gets a criminal record and can't find a job. Children suffer. For what?

Because some prosecutor who doesn't know the dog and never met the dog while it was living claims the family waited too long to put down a dog with terminal cancer??? How long is too long? The family says the dog was up on its feet and eating. Dogs are property in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the owner has the right to make that decision not some paper pushing bureaucrat looking to pad their prosecution rate.  In this case, this prosecutor is arguing over a four day period.  The prosecutor, who again, never met this dog while it was alive, claims the family should have killed their dog four days faster.  

There was no cruelty here.  No human action can cause a dog to come down with cancer.   Cancer is a sad fact of life for animals and humans.   It is never an easy decision to choose when to have a beloved pet put down.   Caring owners want to give their pet as much time with the family as they feel they can.  No one wants to deliberately see a family dog suffer.  Do you honestly think this father deliberately made his dog suffer in order to let his children see that?  Of course not!  Only in an animal rights dominated world can such crazy thoughts even see the light of day.  These owners tried their best by their dog.  That should be good enough.

It is long past time that Virginia legislators stop pandering to animal rights terrorists and supporting the destruction of Virginia's families over ideology instead of science.  It is long past time that our legal system was restored to the rights guaranteed us in the Constitution.  It is long past time that terrorists and their fruitcake ideologies do not control our lives and touch our children.

Stafford County Prosecutor Jennifer Lindsey deserves to lose her job for giving a criminal record to an innocent man for no reason. She deserves to have her license to practice law revoked. She is a disgrace to her office and the Commonwealth.  It is time we stand up and say no more to these terrorists and shine the disinfectant of sunshine on their crimes.   The taxpayers of Stafford County pay Jennifer Lindsey's salary.  I believe they deserve an accounting of her time. 

When Law Enforcement Cavorts with Criminals

I speak regularly of the fact that almost no one in law enforcement receives training on animals from animal experts. Instead the field of "animal law" is littered with con artists, quacks, sexual perverts and criminals.   Previously I discussed the National Sheriffs' Association here and the Virginia Animal Control Association here.  Also being led down the garden path is the National District Attorneys Association, which is just as bad as the American Prosecutors Association.

The National District Attorneys Association runs a "National Center for Prosecution of Animal Abuse" which offers many webinars on "animal abuse." Sounds good, right? Let’s look deeper.

In 2014 they offered the following Webinars:

Collaborative Animal Cruelty Investigations. 

Presented by Joe Stafford (Director of Animal Law Enforcement) and Rod Novotny (Animal Law Enforcement Training Manager) with the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region, Colorado

Grant Writing 101: Securing Funding for Animal Care.

Presenter: Adam Liebling (Director of Grants Compliance & Communication Grants Management, ASPCA)

"Feeding, housing, and caring for seized animals can be a costly necessity within an animal cruelty case. Learn how to find and be awarded grants to help defray these unexpected costs."

I wonder if he’s going to present on how the ASPCA and PETA asked a Florida judge for $1 million dollars for "animal care" that included bills for luxury hotel stays, catered lunches and "chocolates for the ladies."

Investigating and Prosecuting Juvenile Animal Abusers

Presenter: Jennifer Rallo (Assistant State’s Attorney with the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office)

"Research tells us that juveniles who enjoy harming animals are more likely to commit future acts of violence against humans. This webinar will provide an overview of the prosecution of the youthful offender and offer practical advice in how to best approach building your successful case against a youthful offender and how to achieve the best sentencing results."

Because as we all know, giving a juvenile a criminal record and sentencing them to prison time is really good for their "future."

Pretrial Motions – The Framework for Evidence at Trial

Presenter: Diane Balkin (Animal Legal Defense Fund, Criminal Justice Division Attorney)

Pretrial motions are an integral part of trial preparation. Court rulings regarding motions may dramatically affect the substance and procedure at trial. The prosecution of crimes against animals is still a relatively unexplored area. This webinar will discuss standard practice motions, such as motions for discovery and motions to suppress evidence and statements. Additionally, other motions such as “other/similar transactions” (Rule 404(b)) and Frye hearings (regarding expert testimony as to pain, suffering, etc.)

Understanding and Prosecuting Bestiality

Presenter: Jenny Edwards (The Chandler Edwards Group)

Bestiality is an emotional, even taboo topic, and can present moral, ethical, and legal challenges for the prosecutor. The sexual abuse of an animal by a human is considered a paraphernalia or sexual perversity, by the American Psychiatric Association, and is illegal throughout the United States and many foreign countries. Animal sex abuse can happen in any county or city, and occurs far more often than you might think.

I have covered Ms. Jenny Edwards before, when I talked about her lack of any credible experience in animals, let alone bestiality.

Keeping up the fun, in 2013 they offered the following Webinars:

Behavioral Assessment and Rehabilitation of Animal Cruelty Victims

Presenter: Dr. Pamela Reid (ASPCA Behavioral Assessment Unit)

Dogs rescued from cruel conditions, including puppy mills, hoarding situations and dog fighting, run the gamut from friendly, sociable animals to extremely fearful—even feral—creatures.

Common Issues When Investigating and Prosecuting Animal Neglect Cases

Presenter: Geoff Fleck (Animal Legal Defense Fund, Criminal Justice Program)

This talk will address common issues that police and prosecutors confront when investigating and litigating animal neglect cases with an emphasis on three key procedural issues: (1) warrant writing; (2) pre-conviction tools to recover costs and get the animals out of the system ASAP; and (3) winning the merger of charges issues on the grounds that each animal qualifies as a separate victim.

Of course each animal is a separate victim!  If the animal owner had a tank of goldfish that's 10 extra victims to ramp up the charges against the poor luckless owner that went up against these loons. 

The Dog in the Evidence Locker Problem: Managing Live Evidence in Animal Cruelty and Fighting Cases

Presenter: Stacy Wolf (Vice President and Chief Legal Counsel for ASPCA’s Humane Law Enforcement Division)

In an animal cruelty or animal fighting case, the arrest of the perpetrator is often just the beginning of a long road for the animal victims seized in the case. It may take many months, even years, before the criminal case is resolved. During that time, the animals must be housed, fed, and provided with veterinary care.

Note: They recommend "Voluntary written surrender" so that they can resell off the animals immediately.   That "voluntary" surrender is usually at the point of a gun. 

Bloodstained Dirt: Cockfighting in the United States

Presenter: John Goodwin (Director of Animal Cruelty Policy, The Humane Society of the United States)

"What do public corruption cases targeting sheriff's departments in Tennessee and Virginia have in common with DEA investigations targeting drug cartels? What do large scale gambling facilities have to do with severe animal cruelty? The answer: cockfighting. While illegal in all 50 states, cockfighting thrives in the jurisdictions with weaker laws."

Seriously? John Goodwin?? The convicted criminal in five states?  The felon? The former member of the Animal Liberation Front, an FBI certified domestic terrorist group? John Goodwin who once stated: "We will never, ever, ever work with anyone who helps the FBI stop the A.L.F."  

Investigating and Litigating Equine Neglect Cases

Presenters: Scott Heiser (Animal Legal Defense Fund, Criminal Justice Program) and Dr. Jennifer Cole (Equine Veterinarian)

"The investigation and prosecution of equine abuse/neglect cases commonly involve complex medical issues that are either missed by inexperienced investigators or mishandled by novice prosecutors. These types of errors create tremendous opportunities for the defense to undermine otherwise highly viable criminal cases."

I wonder if they will be mentioning the Henneke Body Scoring System?  And if so, will they be mentioning the little inconvenient fact that Dr. Henneke has publicly stated that prosecutors and law enforcement are misusing his system and it was NEVER designed to be used in animal cruelty cases?

Cases of Animal Abuse: The Role of the Forensic Veterinarian

Presenter: Dr. Rachel Touroo, DVM, Director of Veterinary Forensics, ASPCA Anti-Cruelty

Veterinary forensics is a recently emerging branch of veterinary medicine. Learn about the critical role veterinarians play in animal abuse cases.  

You know from Ms. Touroo who has almost no hands-on experience with actual animals. 

Blood “Sports”:

Investigating and Prosecuting Animal Fighting Cases

Presenter: Geoff Fleck (Criminal Justice Program Contract Attorney, Animal Legal Defense Fund)

Explore the horrific and clandestine world of animal fighting through the experienced eyes of a former prosecutor. Geoff Fleck will discuss specialized investigative techniques including effective warrant application and execution, the evidence to look for and seize, and trial strategies designed to insure a successful outcome in these often difficult cases.

Back in 2012 they offered the following Webinars:

Anticipating Defenses in Animal Abuse Prosecutions

Presenter: Diane Balkin, Contract Attorney with Animal Legal Defense Fund (retired Denver Deputy District Attorney)

Part of the prosecution strategy in any criminal trial is to anticipate the defense. There are certain defenses common to all types of crimes such as self-defense, identification, lack of intent, etc. Crimes against animals also involve more unique defense tactics and statutorily available defenses. It is critical for the prosecutor to carefully analyze his or her case to determine the strengths and weaknesses. The facts may be weak with strong witnesses or the reverse may be true. In this free, 60-minute webinar, Diane Balkin, a contract attorney for the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Criminal Justice Program, will discuss the most common defenses in animal cruelty cases and how to prepare for them.

Combating Animal Cruelty: The Past, Present and Future

Presenter: Dr. Randall Lockwood, Senior Vice President of Forensic Sciences and Anti-Cruelty Projects, ASPCA

Review the history of efforts to fight animal abuse and neglect in America from the early days of animal protection to today.

Taught by a man who has made his career out of defining exactly what is a hoarder of animals and why.   Literally he made it up.  An entire category of crime made up by one man and taught to law enforcement nationwide as an 'expert witness.' 

Planning for a Large Scale Seizure

Presenter: Joel Lopez, Sr. Manager of Operations, Field Investigations and Response, ASPCA

Responding to hoarding and other cases that involve large numbers of animals requires comprehensive planning.

Trial Strategies in Animal Cruelty Prosecutions

Presenter: Geoff Fleck, Esq., Animal Legal Defense Fund

This webinar will discuss specialized techniques for successfully prosecuting animal cruelty cases. Learn about jury selection, opening statements, presenting the state's case, cross-examining the defendant, and making an effective closing argument.

Common Issues Law Enforcement and Prosecutors Confront When Investigating and Litigating "Puppy Mill Cases"

Presenter: Scott Heiser, Esq., Animal Legal Defense Fund

This one hour talk by Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Scott Heiser will cover a host of factual and legal issues relevant to any puppy mill case, including:   an overview of the USDA’s regulatory impact on these types of cases.

Back in 2011 they offered the following Webinars:

The Veterinarian as an Expert Witness

Presenters: Diane Balkin, Animal Legal Defense Fund and Dr. Rob Reisman, ASPCA.

Veterinarians play a crucial role in identifying, reporting, and testifying in animal cruelty cases.

Nothing better than encouraging vets to turn on their patients and turn them into the police, right?  It turns out that Diane Balkin is an animal rights activist. 


Prosecuting Animal Hoarding: Why, When and How

Presented by: Dr. Randall Lockwood, Senior Vice President of Forensic Sciences and Anti-Cruelty Projects at ASPCA

"Animal hoarding cases represent a significant proportion of animal abuse and severe neglect cases."

As you can see, the vast majority of training offered to District Attorney's is taught by perverts, quacks, self-professed experts and criminals.

Virginia is for No Animals Left

The Virginia Animal Control Association has released its 2013 Conference Agenda and like years past, it is a litany of animal rights extremists offering their radical views as somehow something "normal." The rise of para-military forces taking over local peace officer positions has not passed your friendly neighborhood dog catcher by. Today, your local animal control officer is more likely to be a member of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), a FBI certified domestic terrorism group, than a true animal lover. Do you want someone like that knocking at your door in an "official" capacity?  But don't worry, the VACA promotes itself as offering 35 years of "Training Excellence" as you'll see below. 

Day One starts off slow and easy.  

In the morning you can listen to a pencil pushing bureaucrat explain their ever changing regulations for animals they don't understand, or you can listen to media darling Katy Nelson.  Which would you pick?  Katy Nelson, is an animal rights veterinarian who recently endorsed the ASPCA and its use of the USDA release of private information on 10,000 dog breeders nationwide. A release, that just like the recent EPA release of tens of thousands of pieces of private information on America’s farmers to environmentalist extremist groups, will only lead to more vigilante actions in this nation against our farmers, ranchers, and pet breeders.  Doesn't that sound like fun?  Let's not forget that Vegan Jello is not what's for dinner.  It is homemade napalm.  

After lunch with their vendors, which I'm sure will include their sponsors from last year, the animal rights groups HSUS and ASPCA, if their lawyers can get away from filing motions to delay and stall the various RICO Act and civil rights lawsuits against them, such as here and here.  Oh wait, I forgot, the ASPCA bought their way out of the RICO lawsuit so they could focus on the New York City Mayor's race.   You know, because its all about the animals.  

After lunch, its all animal sex, all the time.  Virginia animal control officers get to have a four hour lecture on animal sex from Jenny Edwards of the "Chandler Edwards Animal Justice Training" school. Hoo-ha! A search of this magnificent educational opportunity reveals its some sort of private training "school" that is “the only organization of its kind" with a focus on animal bestiality and animal pornography. Ewww! It should come as no surprise that a check of their instructors credentials reveals no one with any true animal agricultural experience at all. One of their instructors has a Masters in Social Work. Yippee! And Miss Jenny? She claims to have a BS in Business and Accounting. Oh, and she’s certified to give "expert witness testimony." Isn't that nice? But what experience and qualifications does this give her to be able to lecture Virginia’s animal control officers on ANIMAL SEX?  None! Unless there's something going on in the accounting field that I don't know about. Quite frankly, I'd rather not know. Sitting through a lecture on animal sex just isn't high on my priorities.  But don't worry, they are having a social and casino night visit afterwards.  You know, like listening to a four hour lecture on animal sex gets you in the mood to gamble.  

Day Two gets the ball rolling.  

The morning starts out with two concurrent speeches.  You can listen to a potentially respectable speech on wildlife rehab given by Dr. Kirchgessner.  You know, like that's an ACO's job in Virginia.  (Hint:  wildlife laws are enforced by the VDGIF, not ACO's).  Which makes this a strange choice for an ACO training conference.   Which makes your real choice of speakers more obvious.  Todd Stosuy.

Stosuy is giving a speech on the iniquitous sounding "Proactive Community Animal Control."  Sounds sweet, right?  All warm and fuzzy, right?  The problem is its coming from a man who conducts raids on animal owners for a living. He took part in a splashy raid of a "hoarder" earlier this year in Watsonville, California.  What the media glossed over in reporting the story is that Stosuy scored a whole bunch of purebred Chihuahua's including a bunch of easily resell-able and highly valuable puppies. Now the lurid claim was made that these people were hoarders and that's why it was justified to take all their animals away... but funny how no one in the media questioned why the search warrants were conducted at several different residences. The media ran with "36 Chihuahua's Hoarded" while ignoring that the 36 dogs were not all from the same location and were not all owned by the same person. Big difference!  Are we supposed to believe that "hoarding" is some sort of group thing now?  By the way, the title of his speech is a nice play on words. I take it to mean that he's proactive in controlling animals and taking them away from the community?  I mean, what else can you expect from a former PETA worker? It's not like other PETA workers haven't been caught rounding up and killing animals. Right? Oh, wait. Then there's his former employment with Farm Sanctuary, you know, the people that want to end all animal agriculture. The fact that this man is the current President of the National Animal Control Association should scare the socks off of any animal lover.  

After lunch its again a strange choice of speakers.  You can listen to a potentially respectable lecture on Rabies in Virginia which is guaranteed to be one dull subject or you can pick a lecture again on RAID TIME!  Which do you think the majority of attendees are going to select?   I'm going with Michelle Welch myself.  Michelle Welch is a lawyer from Ken Cuccinelli’s AG’s office, known for her hard core animal rights beliefs and her connections to ALF members.  Last year she spoke about how she re-directs Virginia legislators to the truth and light when they contact her office based upon constituent reports of illegal animal raids and frivolous prosecutions statewide.  This year she asks: "101 Dalmatians: What’s the charge under Virginia Law?" I should think that one is obvious. Since 2008, it has been illegal for anyone to own more than 50 dogs, the first kennel limit law in the Nation. Virginia is Not for Dog Lovers.  Except for the rich fox hunters... somehow they seem to be exempt from this law, as the Orange County Hunt which is located in Fauquier County has a permit to own 140 dogs.   Shhhh!  Don't tell anyone! 

In the afternoon the choices get difficult.  You have to choose between two conflicting speeches both guaranteed to be show stoppers, they just don't know it.   Rachel Touroo or Scott Barras.  I'm thinking most are going to be selecting Touroo's speech not knowing about Giggles.  More on that later.

The infamous Rachel Touroo is a former Virginia state veterinarian who has almost no-hands on experience with animals. Her entire career has been spent as a paper pushing bureaucrat and moving and shaking with ALF members. But Touroo works for Virginia no longer. After she racked up several "confirmed kills" in Virginia including the successful prosecution of Jean Payne on animal cruelty charges for failure to brush her dogs teeth, destroying Jean’s 30 year kennel business, Touroo was promoted up the animal rights chain of command to take the place of disgraced and discredited Melinda Merck at the fake "Animal CSI" school in Florida. Merck is famous for having created the field of forensic veterinarian services but she was so incompetent and inept, it was revealed in court that she couldn't tell the difference between an animal bite and a knife wound. These revelations came after Merck pushed for the prosecution of a "serial cat killer" who was actually an innocent teenager who has never killed a cat in his life, and a SWAT team raid of an elderly man in his condo after Merck accused him of having sex with his dog. Another totally fraudulent prosecution of an innocent citizen. 

I don’t know about you, but I’d be more interested in sitting in on the lecture titled, “Resolving Conflicts with Wildlife” by Scott Barras of the USDA. Since the USDA has been completely infiltrated by animal rights activists from top to bottom, I wonder if his lecture will touch on the recent 13 person Raid Team that assaulted the Wisconsin Society of St. Francis in order to go in with full tactical weapons and aerial recon photos to slaughter Bambi’s daughter, Giggles? You know, to resolve that "conflict" we all have with wildlife and their criminal offspring.  Maybe he should be sitting in on the speech on wildlife rehab.  Just a suggestion.  

But the day isn't over yet.  Wrapping up the day is an Awards Ceremony and three hour Banquet afterwards in which the Guest Speaker is Lindsay Reames of the Virginia Farm Bureau. Isn't that nice? In the “if you can’t beat them, join them” category, the Virginia Farm Bureau has thrown their hat into a conference of people with mostly zero credible qualifications and known animal rights connections.  I wonder just what Ms. Reames is going to be speaking on when everyone in Virginia knows the Farm Bureau will not support pet owners when they are getting slaughtered by ACO's and activists. 

Day Three All Hoarders All The Time.  

What would a conference be without animal rights HSUS/ASPCA shill Randall Lockwood lecturing everyone on "Rescue Hoarders," from a man who has made his career off of 'discovering' this issue when the field of mental health has not yet accepted that there is such a thing as an Animal Hoarder. Can we expect that there will be an increase in illegal raids of animal rescues in Virginia in the coming years?   Or what is the point of this speech?  

Is it any wonder that Virginia’s animal control officers, let alone the 7 “humane investigator” vigilante’s state wide, are so out of control? They get no credible training from anyone in a true animal care position. This year's conference focus seems to be on wildlife, animal sex, limiting the number of dogs in the Commonwealth, and targeting animal rescuers. Notice, not one single speaker in the conference is there to provide any education actually ON ANIMALS (no, having sex with animals does not count) that ACO's would be handling, yet attendees get 15 educational credits for this drivel? Animal control officers state wide receive only 84 hours of training on both animals AND the law sometime within their first two years on the job.  Very little of that training is on the actual animals themselves, proper care for an animal, etc. Is it any wonder that the average animal control officer cannot even judge the difference between different dog breeds, let alone other species of animals? Let alone what is and isn't proper care of them? The vast majority of speakers at this conference are there to show animal control officers how to prosecute and destroy Virginia’s animal owners with false science and/or propaganda from extremists. Is it any wonder that the Animal Cops in Virginia have a known history of demonstrating almost no actual knowledge of animals and routinely violating the civil rights of their owners?

If it was up to me and I"m just spit-balling here, I would suggest a radically different selection of speakers if your goal was actual training about animals.  How about a speaker from the Virginia Federation of Dog Clubs and Breeders to give a speech on dog breed identification, proper dog behavior, correct dog care based upon breed type, or something along those lines.   If they want to hear about livestock and the farming industry, how about inviting in the Animal Agriculture Alliance to speak?  After all, they are located in sunny Arlington, Virginia.  Or how about a speaker from the Virginia Veterinary Medical Association on what is and isn't true animal cruelty from a veterinarian who has actual hands-on experience with animals?  Being careful there not to get a speaker with known animal rights leanings since infiltration has occurred there as well.  If they want speakers in animal law, why not have the lawyers for Ringling Bros. Circus speak on what not to do as an ACO.  After all, Feld Entertainment is a Virginia company who is inspected by ACO's at every single city that the circus visits.  There isn't a day that goes by that Ringling isn't dealing with ignorant ACO's trained by PETA. 

I'm not an ACO but if I was, I would rather get training on animals than listen to a long speech on animal sex from a quasi-expert when I'm not likely to ever see such a thing in a 30 year career on the job.  But that's just my opinion.