JERSEY CITY, HOBOKEN, AND BEYOND — A member of the board of Jersey City’s Liberty Humane Society — which runs an animal shelter in Jersey City that has been the subject of controversy lately — has filed a complaint against a Sussex County man whom he alleges made threats against the board on Facebook.
Over the last few months, the shelter has faced criticism from people who say they have euthanized too many animals, including those that some families have actually attempted to adopt. Shelter directors say the animals euthanized were too dangerous or could not be adopted for other reasons.
A relatively new board of directors has come under fire for their policies, being lambasted on a Facebook page called “Liberty Humane Society Uncensored.”
The board member who filed the police complaint did so on Nov. 15. He said that in late August, information posted on the Facebook page made him feel that his family was in danger. An investigation determined that the threats were made from an AOL account.
A court date of Nov. 29 has been set.
“It is shameful that [the man], and those who affiliated themselves with him, chose to use threats to kill or harm board members, staff and their families,” said LHS President Alfred C. Martino. “This was not a question of free speech, but of harassment, designed to instill fear and intimidate us. Our board, staff and volunteers are working hard to serve the Jersey City and Hoboken communities, and have the welfare of our animals at heart, first and foremost. We should not now, or in the future, have to endure this kind of abuse.”
The shelter handles stray animals picked up in Jersey City and Hoboken. Until last year, there were two shelters in Jersey City, but the former SPCA shelter was shut down after state and local inspections showed poor conditions. The animals there were brought to the LHS shelter, which was founded years ago by volunteers.
With the troubled economy, more people have been giving up animals, and most Hudson County towns have faced a problem due to the lack of shelters in this area to deal with the county’s strays.
For an update on the LHS situation, watch the Jersey City and Hoboken newspapers later this month.
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