IF YOU WITNESS ANIMAL ABUSE

Where to Start

First, find out who in your town, county, or state investigates and enforces the

anti-cruelty codes. Often, these people work for local humane societies, societies for

the prevention of cruelty to animals (SPCAs), or taxpayer-funded animal shelters.

If you cannot locate the proper person, call or visit your local sheriff's office or police

department to ask for help in enforcing the law. Before doing so, check the county and

state law books in your local library. The state statute and county code will tell you

exactly what your laws prohibit a person from doing to an animal. You can look up the

laws easily in the index of the books and should make a photocopy to take with you.

In most states, causing an animal "unnecessary suffering" is illegal, as is beating an animal,

depriving him or her of food, and so on.

Gathering Evidence

Once you have located the proper law enforcement officer, provide him/her with

a concise, written, factual statement of what you have observed, giving dates and

approximate times. If you can, photograph the situation and date your photographs.

You should also try to get short, factual, written statements from other witnesses.

Always keep a record of whom you contact, the date of the contacts, and the content

and outcome of your discussions with each of them. Never pass on a letter or document

without making a copy for your file. Make it crystal clear that you wish to pursue this

case and are willing to lend your assistance, as required.

Pursuing Your Case

If you are not able to get satisfaction from the enforcement officers, present your

documented case to their supervisors, and, if necessary, to your local government

officials, such as the county commissioner, and ask them to act. If you have witnessed

the cruel act yourself, you can go to your local police commissioner and ask to swear

out a warrant to summon the accused person to court. Sometimes expert witnesses may

be necessary to the case. A veterinarian, for example, can sign a statement that it is

his/her "expert opinion" that a dog suffers if swung by a chain, deprived of food, etc.

Expert opinions often make or break a case, so if you know a sympathetic veterinarian,

you may wish to seek his/her assistance and tell the officer you have expert support.

By keeping a factual, well documented, step-by-step record of the case, if all else fails,

you can always visit or call your local newspapers or television stations and try to

interest reporters in the story. A news story may force officials to act, or scare the

person causing the abuse into stopping. Other people who have seen similar acts

may then be encouraged to step forward.

SHELTER OFFERS PET PROTECTION
submitted by: [staff] SurferErin@aol.com
One man butchered a kitten in front of his girlfriend, threatening to do the same

to her because she lost her house key. Another told his mate that if she left him,

he would microwave her cat. Fear generated by such threats often keeps

women and children under the fist of an abuser who uses the love of a pet

as a weapon. Now, abuse activists have come up with a novel solution:

a hotline offering shelter for the pets of abused persons.

"Our goal at the time she, or he, makes the decision to leave is that we can

step in and take the pet for a six-week period," said Madeline Bernstein,

president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

"We've had dogs, cats and rabbits in protective custody."
"A violent person is a violent person. It doesn't really matter who the
victim is," she said. The Animal Safety Net Hotline started as an experiment

last year, and has grown rapidly, sometimes providing for as many as 35 animals.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Scott Gordon, who serves as chairman of the Los
Angeles County Domestic Violence Council, supports the hotline.
"What the program does is help take away emotional obstacles," he said.
"Domestic violence is a community problem and it takes a community
response, and this is another partner in the solution."
Law enforcement officials have established a link between animal cruelty
and violence, citing it as one of three prompts in what is called the
"homicide triangle." It is a felony in California and 21 other states.
Just as in shelters for abused humans, confidentiality is a centerpiece of the

animal shelter program. Pets are placed in a variety of locations, in kennels,

or foster care situations, depending on what is available. The exact locations

are never disclosed, even to the owners. "We don't tell them where they're

being housed, or how," Bernstein said. Owners are given a Polaroid picture of

the pet to take with them, for sentimental and identification purposes.

Unclaimed pets will be put up for adoption, although that has only happened

once. Bernstein refused to allow photographs to be taken of any animals

in the program, citing fears that the threatener might see the picture and try
to find the pet. Payment is on a sliding scale, but most cannot pay,

Bernstein said. The program is seeking funds. City Atty. James K. Hahn

recently donated $6,000 from the settlement of a lawsuit against supermarkets

accused of overcharging.
"Not only is abuse of animals wrong, but we know there is a strong connection

between animal abuse and later violence against humans, whether child abuse,

domestic violence, elder abuse, or violence against women," Hahn said as he

handed over the check at a recent SPCA telethon. Hahn's office is expected to

make an additional $30,000 donation May 25 from the settlement of an

environmental case involving an oil spill in the harbor.
Bernstein cited the example of a woman who forgave her abuser when he
broke her arm, again when he fractured her skull. A third time, when he
lodged a bullet in her spine. But she left him for good when he unplugged her

tank and her fish died. "She felt like she deserved the abuse," Bernstein said.

"That fish tank was the one bright spot in her life."
Bernstein said the program can be particularly beneficial for children,
who especially identify with the powerlessness of the animals, and are
fearful of leaving them behind, adding to the burden of the battered spouse.
Judy Sims, the society's administrative coordinator, answers the hotline,

interviews victims and does some counseling. Some of her encounters have

been bittersweet, such as the woman and her two young daughters who were

forced to drop off their cat. The youngest one was wearing a T-shirt that said

"Everything will be OK," Sims said. Six weeks later, they returned, the girls

dressed in their Sunday best, to pick up their cat and leave a plant and a

homemade thank-you card for the staff.
"It just brought tears to our eyes," Sims said.
The Animal Safety Net Hotline number, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., is

(888) 527-7722.
  1999 Los Angeles Times.

HSUS Online Directory of Safe Havens

HOARDING
When animal lovers or rescuers take on more animals than they can manage,

they unintentionally become passive abusers themselves. Hoarding can become

both a cruelty and a public safety (health) issue.

Read more at: Legacy of Suffering

THE LINK BETWEEN

ANIMAL & HUMAN ABUSE
Cruel acts toward animals have long been recognized as indicators of a dangerous

psychopathy that often claims more than animal victims. �Murderers ...

very often start out by killing and torturing animals as kids,� according to

Robert K. Ressler, who developed profiles of serial killers for the

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).(1)  Studies have now convinced sociologists,

lawmakers, law enforcement officials, and the courts that acts of cruelty to

animals deserve our attention. They can be the first sign of a violent

pathology that includes human victims.

PET-ABUSE.COM

Here you will find an enormous database for abused animals and ways you can

help. Beware, there may be very disturbing issues.

Click the button above, read the poem then click on that the same button there.

This site has been dedicated for years in taking action against cruelty related issues.