At a March meeting the Rensselaer County Legislature voted 19-0 to abolish the Animal Coalition of Rensselaer County. The coalition was created in 2007 with support from former District Attorney Patricia DeAngelis and was intended to assist and educate local law enforcement and the public with regards to animal cruelty investigations.
Apparently, the abolishment of the coalition came about due to concerns from Rensselaer County farmers fearing harassment by members of the coalition. In a March 14, 2011 Times Union article, Legislative Majority Leader Kenneth Herrington, himself a dairy farmer, was quoted as stating “it was a real concern for where [the coalition members] were headed for the farm community.” Other concerns cited by the Legislature were “mission creep”, liability fears and the portrayal of coalition members as investigators.
In a series of recent editorials published in the Troy Record, former coalition members have shot back at the Legislature and claim that the resolution which formed the coalition authorized coalition members to act as animal cruelty investigators and that the coalition never exceeded the limits of its charter. Additionally, the coalition members propound that they were welcomed with open arms by the Troy Police Department as a resource for cruelty investigations. The former members also express their continuing concern for the wellbeing of animals in Rensselaer County now that the coalition is disbanded.
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