Vermilion Parish Police Jury's public director defends rabies control supervisor

Vermilion Public Works Director Billy Noegel released a press release saying the parish’s animal control supervisor Pam Monceaux was set up and treated unfairly.
Thursday night, Noegel defended his animal control supervisor, saying that she unfairly has been the victim of false accusations and defamation in the case of three dogs, scheduled for adoption, that were euthanized last week.
Noegel said that, on the day the dogs were put down, the rescue organization scheduled to pick up the dogs was a “no show” and that
perhaps, he said, Vermilion Parish Animal Control (VPAC) Supervisor Pam Monceaux “may have been set up.”
“You should have heard what people said last night at the meeting, not just on email, on Facebook, and everything. They said she (Monceaux) enjoyed killing dogs. Murderers, they were called--not just her--but the department.”
The public-works director strongly defended VPAC’s actions and said that he requested that the Vermilion Parish Police Jury draft a press release to defend Monceaux’s department.
Noegel said he felt strongly about what he considered to be “defamation” against Monceaux.

Noegel, with support of some members of the police jury, indicated that the onus of blame falls squarely upon the rescue organization that agreed to take the three animals. Noegel explained that animal control staff, in the past, has been misled by individuals or organizations who make promises on which they do not deliver.
“They (the rescue group) said they were coming,” Noegel said. “They never showed. It’s not on us. If I tell somebody I’m going to be there at eight, and you don’t show up. Nine o’clock, you don’t call. Ten oclock, you don’t call. Eleven o’clock, you don’t call. Eventually, they did call at 11:57 a.m. They say that someone told them to be there at 1 p.m. Where did they get that from? They didn’t get that from us. Was it on purpose? I don’t know.”
Attorney Paul Moresi III agreed with Noegel.
“One of the things that has been lost in the shuffle about the three animals is that we kept them for 30 days or more and that we made them available for rescue, but the group that agreed to rescue them never showed up. On the day that we made the animals available for rescue, there was no email from the rescue organization. There was nobody who showed up. Nobody called to suggest that they were on the way, so we followed normal procedures,” Moresi stated.
Moresi also alluded to a 1993 court order by Judge Jules Edwards resulting from a case in which Vermilion Parish Animal Control was sued regarding complaints about too many animals in one kennel. Moresi explained that Edwards’ ruling imposed specific overcrowding limits on VPAC and VPPJ.
Moresi said that Edwards required that the police jury take all actions necessary to avoid overcrowding. As a result, Moresi said, the police jury was ordered not to have more than one animal or four puppies or kittens at a time in a single kennel.