Report of Shooting Of Cats In Oconee County Subdivision Produced Strong Reaction From Animal Advocates

An incident Tuesday involving the apparent shooting of cats in Broadlands subdivision east of Watkinsville stirred strong responses among local animal advocates, a reaction made worse by the county’s unwillingness to release information about the event.

Both Animal Control and the Sheriff’s Office responded to the incident, but only the Sheriff’s Office provided any information about what happened.

Chief Deputy Lee Weems, who was one of those on the scene, said he witnessed an Animal Control officer write a citation for a violation of the county’s animal control ordinance, but that citation was not yet in the county Clerk of Courts Office late this afternoon.

The county refused to release the incident report, the citation itself, or any other information in the Animal Control Department because of a “pending investigation or prosecution of a criminal or unlawful activity.”

For more on this story, go to Oconee County Observations.