Panelists in the TAFA workshop on working with local law enforcement included (left to right) Kimberly Alboum, HSUS state director for North Carolina; Michelle Welch, assistant attorney general for the state of Virginia; Sherry Schlueter, executive director of the HSUS South Florida Wildlife Center; and Tim Rickey, senior director of field investigations and response for the ASPCA / Photo: Catherine Cowan and Paul Becker

Fresh AIR from D.C.:  AIReporter Catherine Cowan is in Washington this weekend to fill us in on Taking Action for Animals (TAFA), a conference organized by The Humane Society of the United States.

By Catherine Cowan

“Not everything is black and white,” an animal welfare investigator warned attendees on the first day of TAFA.

During a half-day session on “How to Work with Local Law Enforcement and Animal Control to Address Animal Cruelty,” Tim Rickey, senior director of field investigations and response for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) stressed knowing the statutes.  “For example, sanitation—animals may be living in filthy conditions.  Most laws do not cover the conditions, but there are requirements for clean water and good health.”

While many animal control deputies want to remove animals from cruel situations immediately, Rickey said, search warrants are important.  They are hard to get, but without them evidence may not make it into court.  Without a conviction, the perpetrator can go on to abuse other animals.

Dogfighters ‘thrive on the brutality’

Rickey discussed several scenarios for animal cruelty: domestic violence in which animals are abused or killed as a form of control or revenge, mental disorders such as animal hoarding, and intentional abuse for profit such as through dog fighting and puppy mills.

Dogfighting is “much a more prevalent industry than most people realize,” Rickey said. Dogfighters “lead what appear to be normal lives—they have wives, kids, take part in community activities.  Then they go watch animals fight.  They turn into monsters who thrive on the brutality.”

Animal fighting operations are dangerous because they almost always involve other illegal activities, Rickey said.  Advocates should report anything they see to law enforcement but should not get involved.

Educating owners

Other forms of cruelty are not intentional, such as a person who acquires a horse and has no idea about basic horse care, Rickey said.  The goal in these cases is to educate the owner and get the animal healthy in its environment. “Not everyone is a villain,” he said.

Some cases may look like cruelty but turn out to be something else; for example, an animal that appears to be starving may not be getting the right kind of food or may have a medical condition.  “You don’t want to get to court and say the person starved the dog only to find out it has cancer documented by vet records,” Rickey said.

Documenting cruelty

Rickey also discussed the process of documenting evidence from the animals themselves in cruelty cases.  A crime scene involving animals is processed in the same way as any other crime scene using the same rules of evidence, he said.  Investigators secure the scene, including any loose animals, then do a walk-through to collect evidence, take photos and video, and provide emergency triage.

A detailed sketch of the scene including where each animal is located can provide important evidence for a later court case.  Each animal is given an ID number and photographed, and measurements are used to document conditions in the living environment such as amount of food and water.

Animals are then taken to a temporary shelter, which may be hours away.  Each animal gets a transport manifest documenting departure and arrival and condition throughout the trip.  Rules of evidence require that someone is with the animals at all times.  “There’s no going in to a restaurant for a leisurely lunch and leaving the animals alone for two hours,” Rickey said.

At the temporary shelter, each animal is given a medical exam and photographed with his or her ID number from multiple angles with additional photos for areas of interest such as injury or infection.  More documentation is created of daily care, ongoing medical treatment, and, if necessary, euthanasia.

Catherine Cowan has 18 years of experience in writing, editing, and communications.  Starting as a reporter at a small-town newspaper in Indiana, she worked her way up to nation and world news editor at a top newspaper in Kentucky before moving into an editing role at a magazine on issues facing state governments.  She has also done communications for a non-profit health care company and a state university research center.  She is owned by four rescued and adopted cats and has a long-standing interest in animal issues and human-animal interactions.

Want more fresh AIR from D.C.?

See AIReporter Catherine Cowan’s other articles on how to work with law enforcement:

‘Never give up’: Tips for animal advocates working with law enforcement

And coming up soon…

  • Who’s in control’? Tips for animal advocates working with law enforcement
  • Top 13 tips for animal advocates working with law enforcement

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