PITTSBURGH, PA –
Today the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), the nation’s leading legal
advocacy organization for animals, released the top 5 animal-related
crimes that are prosecuted in the United States. Though details of the
laws vary from state to state, animal cruelty is illegal in all 50
states and the District of Columbia and these crimes can include felony
charges.
ALDF and the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys are sponsoring the 5th Annual
National Animal Cruelty Prosecution Conference, November 4 – 6, 2015,
in Pittsburgh, PA. The conference includes three days of law
enforcement-specific training to help police, animal control officers
and prosecutors from across the nation secure justice for these
voiceless victims.
Although
the exact number of incidents will vary from jurisdiction to
jurisdiction, according to Animal Legal Defense Fund, the most commonly
prosecuted crimes are:
1. Neglect. Animal
neglect is the failure to provide basic care required for an animal to
thrive. Such cases may seem less egregious than a single, brutal act of
violent abuse, but severe neglect can mean extended periods of extreme
suffering resulting in permanent injury or death. A single large-scale
neglect case can affect hundreds of animals, as in cases of hoarding,
puppy mills, and livestock neglect. This offense is most commonly
related to dog and cat care, but closely followed by horse care. By
definition, these crimes are aggravated in that the offenders occupy a
position of trust as the victim animal’s owner or caretaker.
2. Affirmative Acts of Abuse.
Animal cruelty of this nature is intentionally carried out to injure or
kill an animal. Unlike neglect, any person—whether or not they own the
animal—can commit these crimes. Often these cases garner a great deal
of media attention due to the shocking behavior involved. Affirmative
acts of abuse include every conceivable cruel act: from lighting animals
on fire to using power tools to torture and kill animals. Affirmative
acts of abuse also include cases of domestic violence where abusing
animals is part of the offender’s system of maintaining power and
control over the human victim.
3. Animal Fighting. Animal
fighting is a contest in which people cause two animals to fight for
the purpose of human entertainment. In some instances, typically during
training prior to an organized fight, docile animals are used as bait to
cement the bloodlust in the animal being prepared to fight. The most
common forms of animal fighting in the United States are dogfighting and
cockfighting. Animal fighting is regularly accompanied by other crimes,
including gambling, money laundering, weapons offenses, and
conspiracy. As a result, many states are amending their organized crime
laws (racketeering) to include animal fighting as a predicate offense.
4. Abandonment. This
crime is committed when an animal is deliberately cast off by its
owner. There has been a significant spike in these cases due to owners
leaving their pets behind in home foreclosure cases.
5. Bestiality. Taboo
as a subject to be sure, sexual crimes against animals are not
exceptional, isolated incidents. The case facts run a wide range – from
individual animals assaulted by their owners in their homes, to
organized bestiality events held at clandestine, often rural locations.
The ugly reality is that bestiality is not yet expressly illegal in all
50 states.
Animal
Legal Defense Fund is dedicated to ensuring more animal cruelty cases
are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The national nonprofit
provides assistance to prosecutors nationwide—with research and
recruiting expert witnesses. ALDF also regularly offers rewards in
animal abuse cruelty cases for information that leads to arrest and
conviction. This incentive encourages brave individuals with information
to come forward.
In
2013, ALDF formed a partnership with the Oregon District Attorneys
Association and ALDF is now providing grant funding for a statewide
dedicated animal cruelty prosecutor who is available to handle any
animal abuse case for any one of Oregon’s 36 District Attorneys. This is
the first program of its kind in the nation—but ALDF plans to provide
animal protection designated prosecutors to additional jurisdictions.
“It
is important to enforce the laws we have in place to protect animals—to
show criminals that acts of animal cruelty do not go unnoticed or
unpunished,” says Stephen Wells, Animal Legal Defense Fund Executive
Director. “It is equally important to continue to fight for stronger
laws that protect animals, and oppose and defeat laws that put them in
danger.”
About ALDF
The
Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) was founded in 1979 to protect the
lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system. To
accomplish this mission, ALDF files high-impact lawsuits to protect
animals from harm; provides free legal assistance and training to
prosecutors to assure that animal abusers are punished for their crimes;
supports tough animal protection legislation and fights harmful
legislation; and provides resources and opportunities to law students
and professionals to advance the emerging field of animal law. For more
information, please visit aldf.org.
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