Yes I would count this as animal cruelty and this should be reported to the board running the humane society.
This could be an issue where the manager is skimming money intended for dog food or where there just isn't enough money or donations to feed all the dogs there. He could be keeping them hungry to keep from having to euthanize them too.
It also may be that if you don't feed the dogs they poop less requiring less cleaning. They may also not feed dogs expected to be euthanized as a cost savings.
The danger is if you report this that the only result will be volunteers will be kicked out of the shelter.
I would suggest getting a second witness in there to observe this and observe it happening more than once. I know waiting is hard to do but getting evidence is important. Keep a log of which days dogs were not fed and which kennel areas were not fed.
Look for the motive in not feeding if you can find it.
Places you report this to can include the board of the society, Humane Society of the United States, PETA, Doris Day Animal League who may all initiate investigations or to the local media - that would be an excellent witness for you if you could get a reporter to come in as a volunteer to check this out. A hidden video camera would be even better.
One expects better of a humane society but the people who work there are all people and subject to doing things for reasons real animal lovers may not comprehend.
Hope this helps you!
Edited by NHolmes on March 4 2006 at 3:47pm
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