February
2001
What
Should I do if I see an Animal Being Abused?
From the American Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals
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The
ASPCA’s Humane Law Enforcement Department (HLE) has powers to investigate
cruelty in the state of New York. If you have a cruelty complaint outside
New York state, visit www.aspca.org
to find a humane society or shelter in your area.
Many people call the HLE to report what they think is a violation of
laws against animal cruelty. Unfortunately, what may seem to be inhumane
treatment may not necessarily be against the law. Although there are
many different laws that apply to animals in New York State, our agents
are limited to enforcing only the laws that are on the books. Basically,
animal cruelty in New York State is considered the intentional effort
to hurt or kill a companion animal or the failure to provide food, water,
shelter or necessary veterinary care. We also must have proof or a witness
who will testify in court that the act of animal cruelty took place.
If the abuse and/or neglect is occurring in New York State, contact
the ASPCA’s Humane Law Enforcement Division (see Sidebar) which
will refer you to the local animal cruelty enforcement agency, or if
the abuse is taking place in New York City, HLE will investigate the
complaint.
If the abuse and/or neglect is taking place in a state besides New York,
we urge you to contact the following organizations: your local society
for the prevention of cruelty to animals and/or humane society (which
may have the power to enforce animal cruelty laws in your area); local
law enforcement officials; the city/county Health Department or Board
(because abuse of animals often involves unsafe or unsanitary conditions
for humans), and/or; if none of these are helpful, contact local media
organizations.
What
to do if you see an Injured Animal in NYC
The excerpt below is from the Center for Animal Care and Control
(CACC) which is the NYC animal shelter or “pound.” Keep in
mind that if an animal is taken to the CACC there is a good chance he
or she will be killed, especially if there are injuries and is thus
deemed “not adoptable.” However, as is stated by the CACC
below, you can take responsibility for the animal and try to adopt that
animal after he or she is taken to the CACC and assessed. —J.F.
Please, if you ever see an injured animal in need of assistance CALL
US ! We are The Center for Animal Care & Control. Please understand
that we have limited resources to work with, but our number one priority
are injured or dangerous animals.
The number for the Rescue Department is 718-649-8600. They are open
Monday through Friday, 8am to 8pm and, in most injured animal emergencies
during these hours, can respond within the hour.
On weekends or after 8pm you can call the Manhattan (212-722-3620) or
Brooklyn (718-272-7200) shelters. Press 0 for an operator and explain
the nature of the emergency. We do have a driver on call during these
times for emergency situations only, and will try and be of assistance.
Remember, as in any emergency you can always call 911 and they are able
to bring the animals into our shelters. Both shelters are now open 24
hours, seven days a week.
We are actively looking to recruit more Rescue Drivers so we may begin
rescue coverage seven days a week. We are not an animal hospital, but
we do have vets and vet tech that can access [sic.] the extent of injuries
and the options.
If you are interested in taking on the responsibility for the animal,
always have your name and telephone number noted on the paperwork and
be sure to get the animals’ “A number,” the number that
will be used throughout the animals’ stay with us and allows for
easy reference throughout any of our shelters. Hopefully this information
will prove to be helpful in the future. —Jody Jones, Center
for Animal Care and Control
