Rescues are vital to saving the lives of homeless animals, but sadly there are some out there that are not what they seem. We recently attended court on behalf of two whistleblowers who came forward to speak out about serious abuse and neglect at a supposed rescue in Mississippi and are very pleased that it has been shut down.

Our Justice for Animals Campaign Director, Doll Stanley, was contacted about Wayne County Animal Rescue (WCAR) with concerns about alleged issues. They ranged from theft, missing animals, and the shootings of dogs to setting up the property where the animals were kept in order to hide what their living conditions were really like.

Stanley met with a group of people who had been involved and she later attended court in support of Jasmine Felps and Destiny Mcilwain who had been the caregivers for the director’s sons who were involved in running the operation and these women had seen the problems firsthand.

When they were asked to volunteer their time to help with the animals, what they witnessed shocked them and they independently documented what they saw, including dead animals and filthy, cramped living conditions.

Fortunately, the court sided with them and ordered the rescue disbanded, and required the current animals to be surrendered to a regional shelter. The couple running WCAR was also banned from possessing animals for 15 years, with an exception made for their own animals, which they claimed were three dogs, which has not been verified.

We’re grateful to those who came forward on behalf of these animals who would have otherwise continued to languish there, and that the court shut it down for good.

To find out more about how you can support our work on behalf of animals in the Deep South visit our Justice for Animals campaign.