New York, NY – Governor David Paterson last week signed legislation sponsored by Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal (D/WF-Manhattan) authorizing the Municipal Police Training Council to recommend rules regarding the development and dissemination of written policies and procedures for the enforcement of animal cruelty laws.

Currently, most laws pertaining to animal cruelty are not part of the penal code; they are contained in the Agriculture and Markets Law and as such, police officers are not educated regularly about these laws. Assemblymember Rosenthal’s law will allow the Police Training Council to develop training procedures for police officers on the investigation and prevention of animal cruelty cases.

“Laws against cruelty to companion animals and animal fighting are felonies. Police should be trained to identify these crimes, especially since there is a documented connected between animal abusers and people who commit violent crimes against humans,” said Assemblymember Rosenthal. “Police officers should be trained to identify unlawful acts against animals so they effectively enforce existing laws and possibly even prevent future crimes against humans.”

While police are currently mandated by the State to enforce all animal cruelty laws, there is a long-standing misconception that this enforcement rests with state and local animal control entities. With the development of municipal police training programs in this area, law enforcement officers will be educated on the role of the police force in animal cruelty situations, which will ultimately allow officers to bring offenders to justice more effectively.

Assemblymember Rosenthal stated, “Animal cruelty cases are on the rise in New York State. Recent high profile cases involving well-known public figures, like the Michael Vick case, have highlighted the need to protect animals and have raised awareness of this issue. We need to ensure our police officers know what to look for and are adequately equipped to identify signs of animal abuse and neglect.”

The Assembly bill, A.7779, was sponsored in the State Senate by Senator Eric Schneiderman (D-Manhattan/Bronx).