From phillyist.com’s “Yo, Philly in the News“:
It looks like the city’s decision to take the animal control contract away from PACCA and turn it over to the PSPCA is on the verge of becoming an unmitigated disaster.
Which links to Stu Bykofsky’s latest chronicle of the implosion of PSPCA:

Stu Bykofsky: City animal control: More chaos ahead?
By [...]

This is a follow-up to the issues surrounding Lin Marie’s bail that I commented on in an earlier post here.
According to the18 Pa.C.S. § 5511 Cruelty to animals statute:
“(M.2) PROHIBITION OF OWNERSHIP.– Notwithstanding any provision of law and in addition to any other penalty provided by law, the authority imposing sentence upon a conviction for [...]

With respect to Siptroth’s statement as seen here on December 22, 2008:

http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081223/NEWS04/812230302

or here: http://tortiball.com/wp/2008/12/rep-siptroths-response-to-pocono-record-article/

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On Dec 23, 2008 at 09:08 PM, Madras said:
Rep. Siptroth says: “My bill would give any humane society police officer performing a lawful investigation or enforcement of the Pennsylvania Dog Law immunity from civil action for damages. It would treat the humane [...]

The Pocono Record: Opinion
SPCA not immune to lawsuits in bill
By JOHN SIPTROTH
State Rep., 189th District
December 23, 2008
The Pocono Record recently printed a piece entitled “Humane officers can carry guns; may get more power” in which legislation I introduced was incorrectly described as providing officers with “immunity from litigation” and suggested that they “may become exempt [...]

From philly.com “Commonwealth Confidential”
Volunteer firefighters have it. Coaches have it. Good Samaritans have it. Why not humane police officers?
That’s what representatives of humane societies told members of the House Judiciary Committee at a hearing today on a bill (HB 2547) that would grant humane police officers civil immunity when investigating animal cruelty cases.
Among those testifying was Andrea [...]

By Celanie Polanick
VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Prosecutors have issued more charges against Linda Bruno, the embattled owner of the now-defunct cat sanctuary known as Tiger Ranch in Frazer.
On March 13, police and humane officers from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals raided the ranch to reveal more than 600 diseased, dying [...]

By:  Robert Swift, The Times Tribune
HARRISBURG — As they assume greater law enforcement duties, animal humane officers are seeking state immunity from civil lawsuits related to their job.
The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday heard testimony on legislation to provide immunity to officers of humane societies for actions taken in the normal course of their duties.
In [...]

The Pocono Record
Humane officers routinely sent to work in counties where they are not sworn in
By Beth Brelje
Pocono Record Writer
August 26, 2008
The Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to animals is accused of overstepping its authority.
Humane officers have allegedly confiscated animals and conducted cruelty investigations in counties where they have no official jurisdiction to [...]

I managed to extract a cached copy of the Pennsylvania Humane Society Police Officer Registry as of May 28, 2008. An archived copy can be seen here: http://tortiball.com/archive/hspo20080528.htm

This is both interesting and annoying.
I noticed in the Summer 2008 issue of “The Scoop” (PSPCA’s newsletter), Deborah Urmann was referred to as: “Urmann, a humane officer volunteering for Tiger Ranch.” (Source: The Scoop).
I had been under the impression that Deb Urmann was NOT a currently licensed Humane Police Officer in Pennsylvania at either the [...]