First Posted: 3/12/2015
This is a follow up about the Van Wert County Fairground Agricultural Society secretary telling me, “You are done feeding the cats, Tom,” on Sept. 4, 2014.
Then I was told by our sheriff, police chief and county prosecutor that I could be arrested for trespassing if I fed the cats because this is a privately owned fairground.
Some things have happened recently. I now have a copy of Ohio Revised Code Chapter 1717: Humane Societies, Chapter 959.131 Prohibitions Concerning Companion Animals and RC 3.07: Misconduct in Office Forfeitures.
If you read these codes, it appears several violations may have happened at our fairgrounds. I have given copies of the above codes to our humane society, sheriff and a city council member, asking him to give a copy to our safety service director and the police chief.
If one reads the codes above and follows the ORC and enforces them, this problem can be solved.
A local woman called a veterinarian at Ohio State University, and I asked our vet here if cats caused diseases in horses. Both said no.
Lastly, if the fairgrounds are privately owned property with no code enforcement, then every privately owned property owner should be exempt from the Ohio Revised Code. If this privately owned fairground is a tax-exempt property, then every privately owned property in Ohio should be exempt.
Tom Wise
Van Wert
