AR-News: (US-nj) SPCA's unusual powers debated

[Animalconcerns]

When authorities raided a Franklin Township horse farm last fall and
charged Joseph Stuebing with animal cruelty, the New Jersey Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was among the investigators.

As the municipal trial continues over several months, dozens of Stuebing's
horses have remained under SPCA control.

Some involved in the ordeal say that, before last fall, they knew little
of the legal powers granted to the private animal welfare organization.

"We don't have private armies in our country," said Rev. Jeffrey Allen, a
Presbyterian minister who was a witness in the trial and volunteered
briefly at the Stuebing farm. "We don't have private police forces, but
they do specifically for the charges of animal cruelty."

Allen is among more than two dozen people involved in the Stuebing trial
who have petitioned state legislators and local officials to investigate
the scope of law enforcement powers granted to private citizens working
for the non-profit SPCA. Franklin Township Municipal Court Judge Charles
J. Sprigman Jr. is expected to rule in the case within two weeks. 

full story:
http://www.nj.com/news/gloucester/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1084176947198900.xml

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