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LAPD, D.A. Respond To Skyrocketing Animal Cruelty

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Feb 8, 2009 9:06 am US/Pacific

LAPD, D.A. Respond To Skyrocketing Animal Cruelty

LOS ANGELES

Click to enlarge 1 of 1: The owner of this pit bull, named Prada, accidentally dragged her several blocks behind her truck on the way to put her to sleep.
CBS

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The number of cases of animal cruelty charges in Los Angeles county jumped nearly 50 percent in one year, according to a newspaper report.

People involved in dogfighting, cockfighting and other animal abuses are also being targeted anew by groups from the LAPD and district attorney,
The Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.

To combat the mounting problem, the LAPD has created a special task force of five officers and detectives dedicated to investigating animal abuse and neglect.

Meanwhile, the district attorney's office recently began training a select group of prosecutors to handle animal-related cases and is seeking tougher sentences for repeat offenders, according to the Times report.

"As a society, we're just less tolerant of unnecessary and unjustified cruelty to animals," Dale Bartlett, of the Humane Society of the United States, told the newspaper.

In L.A. County, records show that during the 12 months that ended in August, the district attorney's office filed animal cruelty charges in 116 cases, nearly 50 percent more than in the previous year.

Deputy District Attorney Deborah Knaan oversees all prosecutions of animal cruelty. She has also written a proposed law that Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley is sponsoring to ban people convicted of animal cruelty from owning pets for up to life, says The Times.

"They cannot talk. They cannot get away. . . . They're totally vulnerable," Knaan explained. "It's our huge obligation to them to take care of them."