Marlin City Council rejects measures against animal control center

MARLIN, Texas – The Marlin City Council was scheduled to launch an internal investigation into the Marlin Animal Control Center at a July 9 meeting, but after an hour-long discussion behind closed doors, the council announced it was declining to do so.

The investigation returned to the City Council agenda in January 2024, on the sixth anniversary of the discovery of the alleged abuse and neglect at the Marlin Animal Control Center.

Since the allegations became known, animal rights activists and members of the marlin community have been protesting and demanding justice. A petition on Change.com received nearly 500 signatures in just a few weeks. But even though the Texas Rangers are conducting their own investigation, some residents feel that not enough has been done.

“Those who were involved in this, whether it was cleanup, cover-ups, secrecy or whatever, those people would have either been furloughed, unpaid leave, they would have been fired or done whatever they could do in the city,” said Valerie Mann, a member of the group Justice for the Marlin Dogs.

The inaction has caused disappointment but no surprise among many residents and animal rights activists.

“The city has a hard time holding itself accountable, so we expected nothing different from this investigation,” said Dorothy Sanders, another member of the group. “We have always placed our trust and focus on the criminal investigation.”

It was the advocacy group that urged the Texas Rangers to launch an investigation that is currently ongoing.

“We believe that the Texas Rangers will find something, that their investigation will take place and that the decision will be final,” Mann told 6 News. “And that’s what we wanted. The whole time we’ve been fighting, that’s what we’ve been fighting for.”

It is currently unclear whether the City Council will take action to investigate at a future meeting. Mayor Susan Byrd left the question at “no action.”