An animal sanctuary in Monroe County says it’s at risk of being regulated out of existence.
Alex Hernly is the co-founder, executive director, and “beaver butler” of the Pipsqueakery, a wildlife and small animal rescue south of Bloomington that has taken in over 12,000 animals.
She said proposed county regulations on rescues could end her operation. Those include a minimum lot size and restrictions on the number of volunteers. She says that would make it impossible for rehabbers without significant acreage to operate.
“All animal rehab in Indiana is typically done out of a home,” Hernly said. “It's almost impossible to do it any other way, because you have animals that need fed 24/7.”
After receiving complaints of animal hoarding and neglect at the Pipsqueakery in 2025, the Monroe County Planning Department drafted a proposed amendment to the County Development Ordinance that would create a specific zoning district for animal rehabilitation centers.
In a Monroe County Ordinance Review Committee meeting in May, Tammy Berhman, assistant director of the planning department, said because animal rehabilitation is not a land use covered by the ordinance, it’s not permitted without an amendment.
“Otherwise if we didn't do that, I think the option is to cease and desist,” Behrman said.
Hernly, who is an attorney with an inactive Indiana license, said she believes the planning department is overstepping in attempting to regulate wildlife rehabilitation.
“I don't think this is a zoning issue,” Hernly said. “I really don't. I think that this is all already regulated by animal welfare organizations.
The Ordinance Review Committee received over 120 emails objecting to the language in the proposed amendment before the May meeting.
Hernly says that if the regulations pass as written, the Pipsqueakery will relocate outside of Monroe County and stop serving the county.
“Based on how many animals we get from Monroe County every year, that's going to leave thousands of animals with literally nowhere to go, which means people are going to be interacting with rabies vector species,” Hernly said.
The Monroe County Planning Department declined to be interviewed for this story. The proposed amendment is scheduled to be discussed in a September meeting of the Ordinance Review Committee.
