PICKENS — The county’s Animal Control Department came under fire earlier this month from residents alleging inhumane conditions.

Debbie Traver spoke before County Council last week, urging council to look into the treatment of the animals being held at Animal Control, stating that animals were left without food or water for entire weekends at the facility, animals were being held in filthy conditions, that there was no record-keeping system at Animal Control and that animals were being euthanized without being sedated first.

“I don’t understand the inhumane conditions,” she said. “Right is right and wrong is wrong. This is not right. This is not what our community is about. This is an agency that can be turned around.”

Traver said she was moved to speak out about the issues, after Animal Control employees put down an animal even after she informed them that she had found a home for the animal.

That dog was euthanized before the end of the 5-day holding period for animals without collars, Traver said.

Resident Tina Propper urged council to see the controversy as an opportunity to work with, not against, animal advocates and local animal welfare groups.

“The problem is us, it’s the humans that live in this area,” Propper said. “It’s not the animals. Part of the problem is there isn’t enough consequence for irresponsible dog ownership in the county, as far as fines and tickets and Animal Control being able to make people take care of their animals.”

Propper volunteers with the Humane Society.

“The reason I became involved is the number of strays I see every day,” she said.

County Administrator J. Chappell Hurst was quick to defend the program.

“Animal Control is a department that was created with the mission of removing nuisance animals from the streets, so that they don’t hurt people,” he said. “We’re handling deer, we’re handling possums, horses, pit bulls, all kinds of animals. Some of these animals are vicious.”

Animals do not go without food or water at Animal Control, Hurst said.

“We would be stupid not to give them food, because we have to handle these animals,” he said. “So we definitely want them to be as tranquil and as easy to deal with as possible.”

Hurst addressed the claim that animals are being euthanized without sedation.

“That is totally false,” he said. “That is totally incorrect. You give the animal a sedative, then you wait a period … then you give the animal the euthanization.”

Any problems that arise are due to the enormity of the department’s task and the small number of employees, Hurst said.

The department has received more than 9,000 calls so far this year.

“That’s a tremendous amount of calls for five people,” Hurst said.

On average, Animal Control deals with around 500 animals a month, up from 25-30 a week, he said.

“This thing has grown, because we’ve become much more aggressive in getting these animals off the street,” Hurst said.

“We’re doing more than most any county in the state with less people,” he said. “We’ve already spayed and neutered almost 3,000 animals since we started doing that program.”

On Thursdays, the county transports animals to Spartanburg to be spayed or neutered at reduced or free rates, Hurst said.

“That’s having some impact,” he said.

Hurst agreed with residents who said animal owners need to take more responsibility for their pets.

“If they’re going to have an animal, they need to be able to take care of it,” he said.

Animal control officers function almost as deputies, Hurst said.

“You’ve got to have all kinds of people skills when dealing with people about their pets. We have to find out who’s telling the truth,” he said. “You have to have some proof, then we have to appear in court.”