Animal Cruelty

Law enforcement officers have confirmed what we always knew: 78 percent say they see a clear link between animal abuse and other violent crimes. So would you believe that only 19 percent of law enforcement officers report that they’ve received training in handling crimes against animals, and that while nearly one-third of Americans say they’ve witnessed animal cruelty firsthand, police say they rarely see it? According to new ASPCA research, it’s true.

“These findings validate what we have long assumed—that there is a major need for training for officers charged with enforcing animal cruelty laws and investigating cruelty cases,” says Dr. Randall Lockwood, Senior Vice President of Forensic Sciences and Anti-Cruelty Projects for the ASPCA.

The nationwide research study found that the public and law enforcement both want to end animal abuse, but they lack the know-how to work together to stop it. Case in point: we learned that very few witnesses to animal cruelty call the police, and that while nearly all law enforcement officers feel they should play a role in enforcing animal cruelty law, only 41 percent say they know the relevant laws in their area and just 30 percent say they know the penalties.

By obtaining solid research on the problem, we’re a big step closer to solving it through education. The ASPCA is already on the case, boosting our efforts to end blood sports with a tool kit for law enforcement that will soon be released by the Department of Justice and by appointing Animal Fighting Expert Terry Mills to train and work with law enforcement on that important issue.

In the video below, Dr. Lockwood outlines some of the most important findings of the study and explains how the ASPCA will use them in the battle against animal cruelty.

Learn how you can report animal cruelty with our complete guide.

The ASPCA Field Investigations and Response (FIR) team is helping remove and care for more than 100 horses, many starved and injured, from a farm in Fulton County, Arkansas.

When the FIR team members arrived at the farm, they found several dead animals and many equines showing signs of neglect that included untreated infections and old fractures. A search warrant was carried out on the farm, which is operated by a man who buys horses at auction and re-sells them to the public, on Thursday, December 9, after a seven-month investigation by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office.

“It’s sad to see so many horses suffering from blatant neglect without food, water and adequate medical care,” reports Kyle Held, Midwest Director of ASPCA Field Investigations and Response.  “We are doing everything we can to quickly address the critical cases, and we are happy to be moving the horses to the temporary shelter.”

The FIR team members, who are working with the Humane Society of the United States and the American Humane Association, spent the past few days collecting evidence and medically evaluating the horses. The animals are currently being cared for on the property, and responders are working to transport the animals to a temporary shelter, where they will continue to receive veterinary treatment under the custody of the Sheriff’s Office.

Stay tuned to aspca.org for more information on this developing story.

We’ve got a new ace in the hole in our fight against blood sports: Animal Fighting Specialist Terry Mills. The newest Field Investigations and Response (FIR) team member will help bolster the ASPCA’s arsenal in the war on animal fighting. Mills will train law enforcement officials nationwide and work with them to spearhead investigations of dog fighting, cockfighting and other blood sports.

Mills is a major player in his field who received the ASPCA’s Law Enforcement Officer of the Year award in October 2009. He’s known for his work with the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) on the 2009 dog fighting raid that covered eight states, eliminating one of the largest dog fighting operations in U.S. history. Mills, who has 30 years’ experience at MSHP, spent 18 months before the raid as an undercover officer, gaining access to the underground world of organized dog fighting and collecting extensive evidence.

Mills joins the FIR team at a time when Americans are becoming more informed about organized animal fighting. According to our recent poll on blood sports, one in 10 Americans has known or suspected that someone they know is involved in organized animal fighting; more than half—51 percent—of respondents are aware of the connection between organized animal fighting and other serious crimes; and 81 percent of the general population say more resources are necessary to stop animal fighting, particularly training for law enforcement.

“As the public learns more about this issue, the ASPCA is being called to respond to more blood sports investigations than ever before,” says Tim Rickey, Senior Director of ASPCA Field Investigations and Response. “Terry’s background will be a vital resource in training law enforcement to combat this cruel form of animal abuse.”

On Thursday, December 9, at a ceremony at the White House, President Barack Obama signed the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010 into law. The new law prohibits the creation and distribution of “crush videos” and establishes a penalty of up to seven years in prison.

In April 2010, the United States Supreme Court struck down the original “Crush Act” (the Depictions of Animal Cruelty Act), a federal law passed in 1999, finding its language to be overbroad and unconstitutional. The law was meant to stop the creation and sale of crush videos and other depictions of illegal acts of animal cruelty. The animal welfare and law enforcement communities have been concerned that lack of a federal law to prohibit crush videos would lead to resurgence in their trade—done mostly via the Internet—which was suppressed effectively by the 1999 law.

The Court’s ruling did leave the door open for the Act to be rewritten—and to their credit, several members of Congress wasted no time in drafting and introducing amendments that would 1) withstand test of constitutionality, and 2) address one of the Court’s main problems with the original Act by including exemptions for visual depictions of hunting, trapping, and fishing. The Senate version of the legislation was introduced by U.S. Senators Jon Kyl (R-AZ) Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Richard Burr (R-NC); the House version was introduced by Representatives Elton Gallegly (R-CA) and Gary Peters (D-MI).

“The ASPCA has long recognized the dangerous potential for animal cruelty to lead to more serious crimes,” says Dr. Randall Lockwood, Senior Vice President of ASPCA Forensic Sciences and Anti-Cruelty Projects. “By banning crush videos, our federal government is potentially helping to protect the community from other serious crimes and sending a clear message to individuals seeking to profit from the suffering of helpless animals. This law protects both animals and free speech by focusing specifically on crush videos, which clearly have no place in our society.”

The Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act has a narrower focus than the 1999 law, but still prohibits creating or distributing depictions of non-human animals being intentionally crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled, or otherwise subjected to serious bodily injury.

Read the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act.