Historic Collaboration Elevates Importance of Preventing Animal Cruelty
August 22, 2013 • Health & Wellness
NYPD will take the lead in responding to animal cruelty complaints; ASPCA increases forensics, direct care services for cruelty victims:
NEW YORK— The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) and the New York City Police Department (NYPD) announced today a broad strategic collaboration to provide enhanced protection to New York City’s animals by leveraging the strengths and expertise of both organizations.
The partnership will officially launch on September 1, beginning with a pilot in the Bronx. The program will expand citywide in early 2014. In the interim, animal cruelty complaints that originate in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island will continue to be handled by agents from the ASPCA’s Humane Law Enforcement department.
“The potential of this type of collaboration was clearly evident in last year’s Bronx dog fighting case, which resulted in the arrest of a suspect and the seizure of 50 fighting dogs. In this case, the NYPD led the nearly year-long investigation, while the ASPCA provided critical expert knowledge and services so that the investigation and prosecution of the case had the best chance to succeed.”
For cases outside of the criminal justice system, the ASPCA will continue to leverage its three-year-old Cruelty Intervention Advocacy (CIA) program that gets to the root causes of suffering, including intervention in cases involving hoarding and the provision of critical resources to pet owners who find themselves and their animals in unstable situations.
Services that the ASPCA will provide to the NYPD include:
• Forensic services
• Housing, veterinary care and behavioral evaluation/enrichment for animals seized by the NYPD
• Adoption assistance
• Legal backup support
• Training
• Field Assistance
“This partnership is an expansion of the long-standing alliance between the ASPCA and the NYPD and makes best use of the resources of both organizations to strengthen efforts to end cruelty to animals and ensure their welfare. We look forward to significant advances in this ongoing mission,” added Mr. Bershadker.
To report animal cruelty in New York City, the public is encouraged to call 311. For crimes in progress, individuals should call 911.
