Animal Control in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, has a policy of killing animals weighing less than 1.5 pounds, regardless of their health or whether they're eating on their own. According to a memo issued in June 2009, failure of Animal Control officers to comply with this directive will result in "immediate and progressive disciplinary measures."

Lt. Glenn Shanahan recently defended the measure, saying that the survival rate of small animals in the shelter is negligible. That may be true for orphaned wildlife, but kittens weighing less than 1.5 pounds are often perfectly capable of eating on their own.

Shanahan also said that he set the weight limit because he couldn't trust his officers to exercise good discretion. So, instead of training them to do their jobs, or reaching out to the community for foster homes to help these young animals, Shanahan decided the best course of action was to kill any small animals unfortunate enough to be impounded.

Tell Anne Arundel County to repeal this inhumane policy immediately.

Photo credit: ukanda