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Sheriff’s office tells committee it lacks authority to seize non‑vicious animals under current law
Summary
Major Mike Gibson told the Animal Control Committee that deputies can secure animals tied to criminal charges but cannot seize animals that do not display vicious behavior, prompting calls for a local solution and a feasibility study.
Major Mike Gibson of the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office told the committee the department handles animal-control incidents that meet criminal thresholds — such as dog bites — but does not have legal authority to seize animals for nuisance or unknown‑ownership cases. "The BPSO does not have authority by state statute or parish ordinance to require seizure of the animals in these cases," Gibson said.
Gibson and other law‑enforcement and parish officials described a recurring fact pattern: residents report aggressive or nuisance animals, deputies arrive and the animals appear docile, and statutory or ordinance thresholds are not met for seizure. Gibson said deputies document residents’ descriptions and explain citizens’ rights to defend property, and that neighboring jurisdictions will not pick up animals outside their municipal limits, leaving gaps in remedy and enforcement.
