Jury looks to corral loose livestock

The “collection and housing” of stray livestock in Acadia Parish has been an issue for some time, according to Keith Latiola, chief deputy for the Acadia Parish Sheriff’s Office.

It was brought to a head recently when members of the Rice Arena board objected to having impounded animals housed at the arena, an objection members of the Acadia Parish Police Jury supported.

Latiola appeared before the full police jury Tuesday night to detail some of the problems the sheriff’s office is having with loose livestock.

“Housing is a big problem at this time,” he said. “Horses and mules are our biggest concern. The cattle owners usually reclaim their animals.”

Latiola said the sheriff’s office has been housing four unclaimed horses for five months at a reserve officer’s residence.

During committee meetings on Jan. 6, jurors kicked around a number of ideas about where to house the impounded animals, including the area adjacent to the parish detention center where the inmates could be utilized to care for the animals.

“I have some concerns about inmates taking care of the animals — concerns that someone might get injured with the animals,” Latiola said.

Latiola said he has contacted humane organizations in the area, adding, “If someone in the parish wants to step up and provide a sanctuary for these animals, there are grants out there to help pay for their care.”

He noted that a private citizen had donated a livestock trailer for use by the Sheriff’s Posse and expressed hope that the jury would provide a surplus truck that could be used to pull the trailer.

Another problem Latiola noted is the “antiquated ordinance” dealing with loose livestock.

“We want an enforceable ordinance, he said, indicating a desire to cut down on the length of time mandated for advertisement of impounded animals from its current 20- to 30-day window to 15 days.

Jurors asked Latiola to work with the parish attorney, Brad Andrus, to amend and update the parish ordinance.

The goal is to have the amended proposal ready for introduction at the February meeting and adopted in March.

Before being seated, Latiola lauded the efforts of the Acadia Parish Sherif’s Posse, “who are called out to collect the animals at all hours of the night, then have to go home and get dressed to go to their regular jobs.”

In other action, the jury:

• Authorized the advertisement for bids fora dump truck to be used at the parish landfill.

• Formally abandoned the east end of Betty Drive in Atwood Acres.

• Tabled adoption of a detention agreement with the Lafayette Juvenile Detention Home.

• Reappointed Myra Lewis, Nicholas Bellard and Dr. Mike Williams to the Acadia-St. Landry Hospital Service District board of directors.

• Instructed Andrus to review the parish ordinance dealing with “junk yards” and present a proposed amended ordinance to the jury for consideration.