Why Talk About Animal Cruelty and Rescue?
Anyone who knows me knows I love animals and would do any thing I can to help an animal in need. But as my brother wisely told me once, I can't do everything myself. So here is some information to be shared to anyone who cares about animals.
This is originally from an ASPCA newsletter and the links are included below with emails to contact them.
What constitutes animal cruelty?
Animal cruelty occurs when someone intentionally
injures or harms an animal or when a person willfully deprives an animal of
food, water or necessary medical care. Here are some signs that may indicate
abuse or neglect:
- Tick
or flea infestations
- Wounds
on the body
- Patches
of missing hair
- Extremely
thin, starving animal
- Limping
- An
owner striking or otherwise physically abusing an animal
- Dogs
who are repeatedly left alone without food and water, and often chained in
a yard
- Dogs
who have been hit by cars—or are showing any of the signs listed here—and
have not been taken to a veterinarian
- Dogs
who are kept outside without shelter in extreme weather conditions
- Animals
who cower in fear or act aggressively when approached by their owners
What
constitutes federal cruelty to animals? There is no federal cruelty
law—and technically, there cannot be. Animal cruelty is dealt with on the state
level because the United States Constitution limits the areas in which Congress
can pass federal laws applicable nationwide (Article 1, Section 8), and
instructs that everything else is up to individual states to handle.
The U.S. Congress’s broadest Constitutional power
is over activities that impact or affect international and interstate commerce.
Acts of animal cruelty typically occur in a fixed place, and probably cannot be
interpreted to impact interstate commerce—not yet, anyway—so the federal
government has no jurisdiction over them. Some exceptions to the rule are
federal laws involving the transportation of animals across state lines, such
as the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act.
The growth of Internet commerce has led to another
exception—the federal government's "Crush Act," which provides
punishment, ranging in severity from a fine to five years in prison, for the
display of acts of cruelty and sexual abuse intended for interstate commerce.
Why is it important
to report animal cruelty? The ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement department
finds out about most instances of animal abuse in New York through phone calls from concerned
citizens who witness cruelty in their neighborhoods. Without tips from the
public, many animals would remain in abusive circumstances, mute and unable to
defend themselves. It all starts with you—that's why it's so important to learn
how to recognize and report crimes against animals.
There’s
an animal in my community who isn’t being cared for properly—is that cruelty? Yes,
it is. You don’t have to hit an animal to be cruel to him—depriving an animal
of food, water or necessary medical care is neglect, which is a form of
cruelty.
There are two general categories of animal neglect:
simple neglect and gross, willful, cruel or malicious
neglect. Simple neglect (failure to provide basic needs) is not always
considered a criminal act, and can often be resolved by the intervention of
local animal care and control or humane agencies, which may be able to offer
resources and educate offenders on how to provide proper care for their
animals. However, a growing number of states make a distinction between simply
failing to take adequate care of animals and intentionally or knowingly
withholding sustenance. Accordingly, “willful” neglect is considered a more
serious, often prosecutable offense.
Neglect can also be an indicator of “animal
hoarding,” the accumulation of large numbers of animals in extremely unsanitary
conditions, often resulting in the death of many animals and potentially serious
health consequences for the people who are living with them. In many cases,
individuals charged with animal abuse and neglect in hoarding situations have
been found to have children or dependent adults living in the same conditions
as the animals who are suffering.
Laws About Animal Cruelty
Are there laws
against animal cruelty in my state?
Most animal cruelty laws vary from state to state.
Knowing your state's laws is crucial to fighting animal cruelty. The ASPCA has
an online database with more than 550 animal cruelty laws—and their
penalties—from all 50 states. This database, maintained by the ASPCA Government
Affairs and Public Policy department, is a dynamic resource for providing
information relating to animal cruelty laws. You can select your state, or even
use our keyword search to find a specific topic. Access this database and find
out about the laws against animal cruelty in your state.
Will someone who is
found guilty of animal cruelty go to jail?
Some will and some will not—the penalties for animal cruelty
vary widely from state to state, and they also depend on the exact charges, the
heinousness of the crime and on the perpetrator’s criminal record.
Felonies almost always carry stronger penalties
than misdemeanors, which rarely involve a jail sentence. Whether a particular
criminal act is considered a felony or a misdemeanor can vary from state to
state, and the federal government has its own definitions as well.
Sometimes, repetition of a misdemeanor-level crime
can lead to a felony-level charge—meaning that a subsequent offense of a crime
a person has been convicted of in the past will be considered a felony, and not
a misdemeanor. This is not true of all laws, however, or of all states. In Colorado , for instance,
a person’s first conviction for animal cruelty is a Class 1 Misdemeanor, but a
second or subsequent conviction for animal cruelty is a Class 6 Felony.
Are veterinarians
obligated by law to report suspicions that an animal patient is a victim of
cruelty at home?
Eleven states currently mandate that veterinarians
report suspicions of animal cruelty, including suspected dog fighting activity,
to the appropriate authorities. Many other states encourage veterinarians to
report suspected animal cruelty by granting civil immunity to those who make
good-faith reports to the appropriate agencies. Such reporting is supported by
professional veterinary organizations including the American Veterinary Medical
Association and the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA). The AAHA
position statement on reporting, revised in 2003, states:
“Since veterinarians have a responsibility to the
welfare of animals and the public and can be the first to detect animal abuse
in a family, they should take an active role in detecting, preventing and
reporting animal abuse. While some states and provinces do not require
veterinarians to report animal abuse, the association supports the adoption of
laws requiring, under certain circumstances, veterinarians to report suspected
cases of animal abuse. Reporting should only be required when client education
has failed, when there is no likelihood that client education will be
successful, or in situations in which immediate intervention is indicated and
only when the law exempts veterinarians from civil and criminal liability for
reporting.”
Someone in my
neighborhood is threatening to harm my pet, but they haven’t done anything yet.
What can I do to protect my pet from this person?
If you feel that your pet is in danger, do whatever
you can to shield him or her from harm—for instance, bring your outdoor cat
inside and always accompany your dog outside, keeping him on a leash at all
times.
You should also file a complaint with your local
police; depending on the law where you live, verbal or written threats may
constitute criminal harassment. Be sure to keep any tangible evidence of
threats against your pets and yourself. If the threats are serious enough, you
may be able to get a restraining order against the person making them. If this
is the route you wish to go, enlist the aid of a lawyer. Above all, please be
careful.
Why doesn’t my
community have animal cops like the ASPCA’s Humane Law Enforcement agents? How
can we get animal cops where I live? Establishing a dedicated squad of
animal cruelty officers with investigatory and arrest powers, like the ASPCA’s
HLE agents in New York ,
requires changes to a state’s statute. This is extremely difficult to achieve.
The next best thing you can do to make sure that complaints of animal cruelty
are answered is to work with your community’s current police officers, who
already have the power to enforce all of your state’s laws—including animal
cruelty laws. Police are paid with tax dollars—you have the right to be the
proverbial “squeaky wheel” and make sure that they are willing and able to
respond to cruelty.
One idea is to lobby your police department to
implement a plan similar to the one used by the police force of Granite City , IL
If you have questions about on-site training for
law enforcement, please send an email to legislativeservices@aspca.org;
don’t forget to include your location. The ASPCA also offers a free online
training course, "Investigating Animal Abuse for Law Enforcement,” for
police and animal control officers. It covers such vital topics as animal abuse
and community policing, evidence collection and preservation, and officer safety.
To learn more, please email aspcalearning@aspca.org.
Where do I report animal
cruelty in New York City
Where
does the ASPCA have jurisdiction to pursue allegations of animal cruelty? ASPCA
Humane Law Enforcement officers are considered
Where do I report animal cruelty
in New Jersey
Where do I report
animal cruelty outside of New York City and New Jersey
If you encounter difficulty identifying the correct
law enforcement agency with which to file a report of animal cruelty, you may
wish to contact your local shelter or animal control agency for help finding
this information. To find your local shelter, visit the ASPCA’s searchable
shelter database containing contact information for nearly 5,000 community
SPCAs, humane societies and animal control organizations.
How do I find out what
agencies are authorized to investigate and arrest instances of animal cruelty
in my state? To find out if there is an agency other than the police
authorized to conduct cruelty investigations in your area, visit our
state-by-state list of anti-cruelty investigatory-arrest powers.
Where do I report
cruelty to horses at a racetrack? Racetracks are an exception to the
investigatory and arrest powers of ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement. The ASPCA’s
Humane Law Enforcement officers have no jurisdiction at racetracks and normally
are not even allowed to enter the grounds. In New York State
However, investigatory jurisdiction may not be
distributed this way in your state. To find out who has the power to
investigate cruelty at horse racetracks where you live—as well as at dog tracks,
if applicable—your first call should be to whichever agency is endowed with
general animal cruelty investigatory and arrest powers. If you are not sure
what agency that is, visit our list of anti-cruelty investigatory-arrest powers
by state.
You may also wish to directly contact your state’s
racing and/or wagering bureau (the equivalent of the NYRA in New York ) to find out who has jurisdiction
at racetracks. Since state racing agencies typically are headed by
governor-appointees, your governor’s office should be able to steer you in the
right direction if you are unsure whom to contact.
Where can I report
offensive depictions of animal cruelty in television and film? The ASPCA shares your concern about
the media’s depiction of violence and cruelty toward animals for entertainment
purposes. Please know, however, that many of these instances are
constitutionally protected free speech—and may not even involve a real animal.
If you are offended by something you viewed, we
suggest that you contact the network that aired the program or the publisher of
the film in question.
You may also wish to contact the American Humane
Association Movie and Television Unit online or at (818) 501-0123. This unit
oversees the use of live animals in movies and television as part of an
agreement with the Screen Directors Guild.
Where can I report
offensive depictions of animal cruelty on the Internet? You’re right
to be concerned. Some of what is being sold and shown online crosses into the
realm of criminal activity. And in some cases, there are laws against showing
and selling these images.
To report websites that display acts of cruelty to
animals, you should first contact the website host or sponsor. Major providers
of Internet service, such as AOL and Google, have Terms of Service agreements
that restrict depiction of objectionable material.
The next step is to contact the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and the Department of Justice. Learn more about what’s being done
about online cruelty.
Where do I report
animal cruelty taking place in a pet store? For concerns about animal
cruelty in pet stores, please contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA). You can contact its headquarters at (301) 734-7833, visit http://www.aphis.usda.gov/, or send an
email to ace@aphis.usda.gov.
The USDA will direct you to the appropriate regional department to which you
will be asked to submit your complaint in writing.
Where do I report
cruelty by an animal breeder? For
concerns about an animal breeder, please contact the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA). You can contact its headquarters at (301) 734-7833, visit http://www.aphis.usda.gov/,
or send an email to ace@aphis.usda.gov. The USDA will direct
you to the appropriate regional department to which you will be asked to submit
your complaint in writing.
What
information should I have on hand when I make a report of animal cruelty? Try
to gather the following information before submitting a report of animal
cruelty:- A
concise, written, factual statement of what you observed—giving dates and
approximate times whenever possible—to provide to law enforcement.
- Photographs
of the location, the animals in question and the surrounding area.
However, please do not put yourself in danger! Do not enter another
person’s property without permission, and exercise great caution around
unfamiliar animals who may be frightened or in pain.
- If you
can, provide law enforcement with the names and contact information of
other people who have firsthand information about the abusive situation.
Remember, never give away a document without making
a copy for yourself!
Can I remain
anonymous when I file a complaint about animal cruelty? Yes, you can,
and it is better to file an anonymous report than to do nothing—but please
consider providing your information to the agency taking the complaint. These
agencies have limited resources, and the case is more likely to be pursued when
there are credible witnesses willing to stand behind the report and, if
necessary, testify in court about what they may have witnessed.
If I report my
suspicions that a neighbor is committing animal cruelty, and that person’s
animal is taken away and put in a shelter, isn’t the animal worse off? It’s
important to understand that reporting cruelty is always the right thing to do.
Because of the burden it places on the system, animal control officers do not
want to remove an animal from a home unless absolutely necessary. If an animal
is taken from his or her owner, there was a substantial problem. A seized
animal will have the chance to get the necessary help, whether that help is
nutritional, medical or behavioral. Also, if an intervention by law enforcement
leads to a conviction, you may inadvertently have helped spare other animals
from the same abuse: in many states, convicted animal abusers are barred from
owning pets.
Is
there anything specific I can say when I make a report of animal cruelty to
persuade law enforcement to take it seriously? Yes—let them know that you
are taking the incident seriously. Make it clear that you are very interested
in pursuing the case and that you are willing to lend assistance however you
can. Although law enforcement agencies must pay attention to anonymous reports
of serious crimes, including animal cruelty, they are more likely to follow up
on cases where there are credible witnesses willing to stand behind the report
and, if necessary, testify in court about what they may have witnessed.
Provide law enforcement with a concise, written
statement of what you observed, giving dates and approximate times whenever
possible. If you can do so without entering another person’s property without
their permission, you may wish to photograph the location, the animals and the
surrounding area. If you can, provide law enforcement with the names and
contact information for other people who have firsthand information about the
situation.
How should I follow up
on my report of animal cruelty? When you report animal cruelty, it’s a
good idea to keep a careful record of exactly whom you contacted, the date of
the contacts, copies of any documents you provided to law enforcement or animal
control, and the content and outcome of your discussion. This will make
following up much easier.
If you do not receive a response from the officer
assigned to your case within a reasonable length of time, make a polite
follow-up call to inquire about the progress of the investigation. As a last
resort, and only if you are reasonably certain that no action has been taken on
your complaint, you may wish to contact a supervisory officer or a local or state
government official to request action.
Please keep in mind that most law enforcement
agencies operate with limited personnel and resources. Most of these agencies
are doing their best to conduct timely and efficient investigations. Being
respectful of the challenges they face. Giving them the benefit of the doubt
when appropriate will likely get you much further than premature complaints to
their superiors.
For humans and their pet children, this is a great fun site.
www.animalattraction.com
For legal animal advocacy try www.aldf.org
For animals to be treated humanely in farms please check www.farmsanctuary.org
If you would like more information please do contact me. www.thisisdiana.com
~Always with Love, Light and Common Sense Manners~
Diana Navarro, M.S.
On a Quest to Bring Common Sense Manners Back!
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