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As we have discussed over the last few posts, Animal Abuse is wrong. It should be stopped and people should be held accountable for it.
Unfortunately. as big of a problem the actual abuse is, the lack of people who report it or take any action is actually a bigger problem.
Somewhere, right now, there is an act of animal abuse happening. Someone is neglecting a dog, hurting a cat, or performing some other form of animal abuse, and worst of all, someone else is watching it happen.
That’s right. Someone else knows. They either witnessed it first hand, know the person who is doing it, or know someone who does. So how come more and more cases go unnoticed every year.
Because people do not want to “get involved”. Many people are too afraid to speak up about a controversial topic. Many people fear that someone will find out they told. No one wants to be the “whistle-blower”.
In order to help anyone out there wishing to help prevent animal abuse I have compiled a short list of things you will need to know in order to report it.
The Who
No not the band, the authorities. When reporting animal abuse you need to notify the proper authorities. If you have a local chapter of the Humane Society or ASPCA then you can start there, if not contact your local police station and ask for the animal control officer. The ASPCA and Humane Society will have better resources in order to handle such a complaint. They will also generally handle the process of contacting your local police department to further the investigation.
The What
Since you might be wondering why I did not mention knowing the animal abuser’s name above, well, simply you do not need to know it. More important then telling them who is the abuser, is the actual address of where the dog is. Once a complaint of abuse is lodged, the authorities will take over the investigation into who owns the dog. It will be up to them as to who they charge, what happens to the dog, and what actions need to be taken.
The When
As soon as you can. If you see what you think is animal abuse, review the definition if needed, then report it. Do not take a week or two, or put it off indefinitely. Many animal abuser’s end up killing their animals and then graduating to humans. A common trait among serial killers was to first abuse animals. So you could not only save an animals life, but your own.
The Why
You should tell the authorities when you witness animal abuse because it is the right thing to do. On top of that, much like many other crimes, if the authorities learn that you were aware of the animal abuse or other criminal act and did not report it then you could be charged as an accessory to that crime. Thats right. You could find yourself paying a fine or doing jail time simply because your neighbor has been abusing a dog and you knew it but did nothing.
The Where
Where is animal abuse happening? Everywhere. There is not a single county in the country that can boast a Zero percent animal abuse crime rate. If they have one, then either they do not track it, or they do not know what it is. According the the Humane Society of The United States, or HSUS.ORG, nearly 40% of all American households have a dog, and nearly 40% have a cat. While not all houses have both, this is still nearly 1 out of every 2 houses. So if you have neighbors then you likely have neighbors with pets.
Without help from other people, many animal abuse cases go unnoticed and unresolved each and every day. The bottom line is that if you see animal abuse happening, then it is within your power to stop it. If you see it, You should report it.
Next Series Post Preview: Helping Abused Animals.
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I am sorry, but I have to disagree with you on several points. First, in “The Who” category you are advising people to call civilians to report criminal activity. From a logical standpoint this doesn’t make any sense.
Also, there is no such duty to report criminal activity. An individual can only be charged as an accessory to a crime if they actually participated in the crime. A crime consists of a mental state (knowingly, willingly, unlawfully, recklessly, etc.) and an act of furtherance. Witnessing a crime and turning the other way is not unlawful. This isn’t the Seinfeld finally.
I do agree with your bottom line, that if someone sees animal abuse they should report it. But to the police.
John Keene
http://www.crueltyisacrime.com
John,
It is good of you disagree. However I was not stating anything outside of what the ASPCA itself states.
With regards to A Civil organization handling a criminal act. The ASPCA is a society for prevention of cruelty to animals. Please note that I stated “Start there”. What is meant by this is that not all local authorities are “equipped” to handle animal abuse complaints. The ASPCA should have more relevant knowledge of who to contact directly in a person’s community in order to lodge a formal complaint.
Please also note this excerpt from the ASPCA.ORG site
Notice they have their own NYC ASPCA Law Enforcement Division. I know this is not the case here in my area of Massachusetts. In fact, In the local town I live in we have one animal control officer for a town of 30,000 people. She spends much of her time handling many other aspects of her job. She is also not very “understanding, nor do she represent herself well” when it comes to dealing with people regarding animal abuse.
I think any person who witnesses a criminal act should report such act.
Think outside the realm of animals for a second, if you saw someone rob your neighbors house, would you not report it? After all, the end result is to catch a criminal. By not reporting it, you take no action, and allow for continuance of criminal activity.
You might wish to recheck many state or local statues with regards to the law. I am not a lawyer, so I do not delve that deep into the process. I do know from personal experience people who have been held accountable for crimes in which they witnessed but did not report. I think it is not very common, but might be something similar to obstruction.
So In essence, if you are not sure about the laws regarding your area and non-reporting of criminal activities, check with a lawyer or the police. If you not sure who to report animal abuse to, check with EITHER the ASPCA or Local Law Enforcement Officers.
The fact that you are re-stating the advise of the ASPCA speaks directly to my point. The ASPCA is part of the problem in that they continue to confuse the situation.
To use your example of someone burglarizing my neighbor’s house, I would report it. I would call “911″, as I think anyone would. Because someone who wants to report a CRIME would call the police.
There is no other crime in America where there is confusion on who to call to report its occurrence. When you witness a crime that involves an animal it is not an either/or proposition. Only call law enforcement.
All law enforcement agencies are “equipped” to investigate crimes against animals because all criminal investigations are the same. You determine if the complaint is bona fide. If so, you secure the scene, interview witnesses, collect evidence, arrest offenders, etc.
What law enforcement may not be equipped for is the handling of said animals. That is the role humane organizations should play. Police enforce violations of the law, shelters care for the animals. It’s really just that simple.
Lastly, there are specific classes of persons who must notify the police in certain situations. Hospital workers must notify the police when someone shows up with a gunshot wound. They also have to call the police for dog bites. There are several groups of people that must notify the police if they suspect child abuse (teachers and social workers for example). Likewise, veterinarians are also required to notify the police if they suspect animal abuse.
However, I am not familiar with any law that would compel an average citizen to report a crime. And as I stated previously, to be charged with a crime there must be an appropriate mental state and an act of furtherance. Otherwise, a crime has not been committed.
Check out Cliff Notes to see what I mean:
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/CliffsReviewTopic/Legal-Elements-of-a-Crime.topicArticleId-10065,articleId-9928.html
Police officers in NY State are required to arrest animal cruelty offenders. SPCA officers (one allowed per county) are not required to even investigate under the law. While NY has some SPCA’s that appear to be animal friendly, a number were created by paying $90 to incorporate so they could be armed and carry a badge. Their out look is to find no animal cruelty in their county so they do not have to explain why they are not doing enforcement. They are also often under trained and no higher autority invetigates them as they are private corporations. This SPCA problem exists throughout the U.S.
These outcomes will determine if police must enforce animal cruelty laws, spouse abuse, child abuse, and orders of protection laws requiring mandatory arrests in NY, and possibly throughout the US.
I-SPEAK believes that animal abuse should be handled by properly trained and run public police agencies as the primary lead agency, with support from humane societies.
http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/ad2/calendar/webcal/decisions/2007/D14432.pdf