Genesis 1:26 made man’s place on the earth pretty clear. God made the earth and its creatures, putting people in charge of the animals.

But sometimes humans act more like animals than the keepers we’re supposed to be.

The current stink over the Natchez-Adams County Humane Society and some of its former supporters and volunteers is not the result of four-legged creatures doing their usual business, but instead the humans God left in charge.

The NACHS is experiencing problems — several board members have quickly left the board — and battle lines have been drawn.

But the spat isn’t just a family dispute, best left alone. This one involves public funds — the City of Natchez and Adams County donate taxpayer funds to the group — making NACHS’ business a bit more “public” than it would otherwise be.

Community members donated more than half a million dollars to fund construction of a new shelter building to replace the current one, which is in deplorable condition. But at the 11th hour the plans changed, taking many donors by surprise, sparking the backbiting and barking recently seen. It’s all very sad.

Both sides in the matter are wrong to have let the issues get so far out of hand. The groups should sit down and work out a compromise to keep all sides focused on the bigger picture — the animals.

City and county elected officials should take action as they head into their budget seasons. Elected officials need to show some leadership, call a truce and demand public resolution to the nonsense or consider removing funding until cooler heads can prevail.

It’s unfortunate that the matter has been allowed to fester, and it’s long time it end.