Nope. Not going to bring my two kitties to Tazewell County. They're both chipped, and the chips saved their lives once. If the kind of disregard for animals in the story above is typical of the local populace and government, I am not going to risk my cats lives to travel there.
Not to mention I really don't want to see dogs on chains, unkempt and hungry horses, and animal abuse.
This is the point I keep trying to make to officials -- people do care about issues like this. Just because they aren't important to locals doesn't mean they won't influence decisions of people in other parts of the country.