In August, employees at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care and Control (CMPD-ACC) facility in North Carolina posted photos on Facebook of a tranquilized cat posed with a cigarette in her mouth, a knife between her paws and earphones in her ears; another cat posed with a pen in his mouth; and a ferret held up to show missing fur, along with the caption "Apparently someone thought it would be fun to Nair Brenna."

The abusive photos were brought to the attention of Shelter Director Mark Balestra, and he responded by emailing the staff with a reminder that "At no time should it be appropriate to display work related activities, pictures of practices, animals, other staff members, logo's brands, uniforms or other insignia on any web or internet sites."

The problem is not that these photos appeared on Facebook, but that these animals were subjected to this treatment in the first place. Several months later, the case appears to still be undergoing an internal investigation. When Shirley Thistlethwaite of YesBiscuit! contacted Mr. Balestra and asked where the cats ended up, he said, "I have absolutely no idea."

This is not the first sign of problems at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care and Control. Earlier this year, they mistakenly killed two pit bulls waiting for their owner. The shelter's response: "No one knows what happened."

It is unacceptable to treat homeless pets with such carelessness and callousness.

Lisa Easton, the former employee who brought the abusive Facebook photos to light, and Samantha Laine, a local animal rescuer, are calling for immediate reforms, including: holding shelter staff accountable for irresponsible and inhumane practices, establishing greater transparency, and moving the shelter away from its 65 percent euthanasia rate and toward implementing no kill programs.

Tell Charlotte-Mecklenburg Officials to take immediate steps to protect the animals in their community.

Photo credit: daveparker