Red Star Rescue Team to help in New Jersey animal shelter crisis

Via AmericanHumane.org - American Humane Association’s renowned Red Star Animal Emergency Services team has deployed to Helmetta, New Jersey at the request of the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NJSPCA) to help animals in need following the voluntary receivership of a shelter.

More than 100 cats and dogs were found in deplorable conditions and the local borough council approved a temporary takeover of the shelter following alarming reports of conditions at the shelter. The animal shelter was quarantined for adoptions after the local health department found unsanitary conditions.

A recent letter from the NJSPCA to town officials leveled serious allegations against the shelter, saying, “Simple matters such as who has access to the facility, the lack of cleaning of cages, basic feeding, the co-mingling of sick and healthy animals, insufficient veterinary care, the lack of disease control protocols, the majority of the animals thin or emaciated, the need for emergency vet care of some severely sick animals, are all of a very disturbing nature and require immediate action.”

“It’s a very serious situation,” said American Humane Association National Director of Humane Intervention & Emergency Services Justin Scally. “These animals need rehabilitation and medical care, and the way this shelter operates needs to be overhauled. We’re just glad to get our Red Star team here so we can begin helping these animals, and make changes to how the shelter is run in hopes of benefiting hundreds, if not thousands, of animals in the future.”

In addition to its trained team of Red Star volunteers, American Humane Association sent its 50-foot long Northeast Lois Pope Red Star Rescue Vehicle. This newest member of the Red Star rescue fleet is specifically designed and outfitted to provide a wide array of emergency services and is staffed by certified and specially trained responders, carrying supplies and equipment to shelter animals. The vehicle is based in New Jersey and is dedicated to the region so it may respond to emergencies quickly in the entire Northeast area.

“Our hearts go out to these animals and we will do whatever we can to help them,” said Dr. Robin Ganzert, president and CEO of American Humane Association. “Thanks to our supporters, philanthropist Lois Pope, MARS Petcare US, makers of PEDIGREE Food for Dogs, Banfield Pet Hospital, Zoetis, and other major donors who helped fund the Northeast truck used in this deployment, we are able to come to the aid of our nation’s most vulnerable animals in their times of greatest need.”