Social Media. Both a blessing and a curse. There is a very high probability if you are a horse person reading this, you have witnessed or been a party to the online reports, accusations, criticism, second-guessing, frustration, and anger that often ensues when someone sees what they believe to be an act of neglect or abuse against a horse and that they feel is not being investigated in a timely manner. These are difficult cases and each incident must be investigated properly and thoroughly to determine a just outcome. It doesn’t do any good to jump to conclusions, try the person in the court of public opinion, or take matters into one’s own hands. That’s how good cases fall through the cracks because proper procedure wasn’t followed, or how innocent people are wrongly accused. It can be frustrating for the citizen who makes the complaint when the wheels of justice seem to turn slowly, but there’s a right way these situations need to be handled. Reporting an incident to the proper authority is step one, but who would that be?
Pennsylvania has a unique set up regarding who has the authority to do what when it comes to the animal cruelty law. To add to the confusion, the law was revamped with a significant overhaul that went into effect in August 2017 and there will be growing pains in the enforcement of the newly written statute.
Pennsylvania’s Cruelty to Animals statute is located in Title 18, the PA Crimes Code, Article F, Chapter 55 – Crimes against Public Order and Decency, Subchapter B, Cruelty to Animals. WHEW! That was a mouthful! Many other states have their cruelty laws under a different code, such as Agriculture, but not in PA. It is a violation of the Crimes Code.
So, who can enforce the Cruelty to Animals law? The Pennsylvania State Police, the Municipal (local) Police and Humane Society Police Officers (HSPO’s) are the ONLY entities who have enforcement authority for this law. I am using the term “entity” because HSPO’s are not government agents. Here’s where things get tricky. HSPO’s are employed by private businesses. They work for non-profit organizations duly incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the organization must exist for the protection of animals. For example, the Pennsylvania SPCA, Animal Rescue League, or the Large Animal Protection Society are a few examples. The organization could be well-established or a one-man operation as long as it meets the requirements under the Pennsylvania Code Title 22, Detectives and Private Police, Chapter 37 (Humane Society Police Officers). Although HSPO’s may not enforce any crime outside the scope of Title 18, these “private police” are given full law enforcement authority and are deemed “police officers” for the purposes of enforcing the Cruelty to Animals law. The organizations they work for receive no government funding. They rely on private donations, which further complicates the direction of these investigations, as they can be very costly. Many of these non-profits have opted out of humane law enforcement due to the financial drain, or only employ an HSPO when the funds allow for it. Police departments are stretched thin dealing with all the other aspects involved in general law enforcement. Animal cases are not the number one priority for a police department, and that isn’t their fault. That doesn’t mean they are not a priority at all and they should be given a pass to not handle these cases in a timely manner, it means they are busy investigating a host of other criminal and traffic incidents,and protecting their communities from a variety of bad things happening in the world today.
HSPO’s are specially trained to investigate reports of animal neglect and abuse and they understand animal care and husbandry more than the average police officer. The flip side is the state and local police receive mountains more training in law enforcement procedures than an HSPO does, and they have access to law enforcement resources and databases that an HSPO does not have. These cases are incredibly complicated due to the nature of dealing with animal “evidence” and the direction our society would like to see these cruelty cases handled. It’s a great thing that we care about protecting animals. It’s a great thing that these cases are getting the attention now they did not always previously enjoy, but common sense must prevail, and mob rule is not the way we are supposed to do things in the United States.
So, what to do about those skinny horses? First, understand that private citizens are not permitted to take matters into their own hands. Entering someone else’s property and snooping around without their permission is trespassing. It’s not okay to walk into that barn and snap pictures of that skinny horse and splash them all over the internet along with the address where the horses are located, inciting the cyber sleuths out there and getting them all whipped up without having full knowledge of the facts. Being in possession of a skinny horse is not a crime. There is an investigative process to determine why the horse is so thin, what is being done about it, and who is responsible, and answering these questions takes time. It’s also important to know that an animal cannot simply be seized without a search warrant, unless there is an exigent circumstance. A skinny horse is not an exigent circumstance unless the horse will be dead, destroyed, or otherwise tampered with in the time it would take to obtain a search warrant. We have a 4th Amendment, and we have precedent case law regarding the search and seizure of one’s property. Horses are the property of their owners, like a television or a car. The law is the law. Whether you agree with it or not.
Remember this one thing. Following the proper investigative procedures and not infringing on one’s rights isn’t about the owner or caretaker of that skinny horse…it’s about you. How would you feel if you just gave a home to a horse in need that was underweight and someone accused you of wrongdoing? How would you feel if you had a sick horse under veterinary care that is too thin due to a medical condition and someone accused you of neglect without having any facts whatsoever? Every person in the United States is offered the privilege of due process.
The other side of the coin is the person who is truly neglecting their animals. Handling these investigations is a lengthy process. Should the animal have to be removed from the property, there is the issue of where to house this “evidence” pending the outcome of a criminal investigation. This is no easy task. There are no state run or state funded facilities for this. Non-profit animal shelters are who the police rely on. They need to have the space and capabilities to handle the animals in question. The animals can’t be seized if there is no place to put them and little money to care for them for what may be a long time. Housing horses is expensive, and these are horses that require more than regular care as they are brought back to health. Not every non-profit animal welfare organization has the capability to do this. There are other ways to deal with horse neglect situations other than seizing the animals, and often investigators are forced to take these measures due to the aforementioned challenges.
Knowledge is power. As a concerned citizen, knowing where to go to report an incident is the first step in moving a complaint forward. Learn who the animal welfare organizations are in your county who employ Humane Society Police Officers. Research if your local police department, or if you are covered by the Pennsylvania State Police, has an officer or Trooper who is specially trained in animal cruelty cases. Some departments do have officers who are now taking an interest in these investigations. Additionally, download the Cruelty to Animals law cited above. Read over it and learn more about it. Have questions? Contact the District Attorney’s Office in your county, speak to a humane officer, or give us a call and we will do anything we can to help you understand it more.
Colleen Shelly is Founder and CEO of The Animal Crime Institute.