Fresno County District Attorney Lisa A. Smittcamp has formed an “Animal Cruelty” Unit dedicated to addressing animal abuse cases throughout Fresno County.
Recognizing that animal cruelty can be a precursor to violent crimes against people, the D.A.’s Office is attempting to stem this tide of violence.
“We’re going to have some really good prosecutors who are passionate about these cases – prosecuting them and also doing some outreach, some education, hopefully prevent some of these crimes from happening in the first place.”- Steve Wright, Assistant District Attorney.
According to the United States Humane Society, research has determined that between 71 and 83 percent of women entering domestic violence shelters have reported that their partners had also abused or killed the family pet.
Additionally, 88 percent of the families being supervised for abusing their children also experienced animal abuse.
In seven school shootings that took place across the country between 1997 and 2001, all of the young males involved had previously
committed acts of animal cruelty.
One goal of the Animal Cruelty Unit is to break this connection between animal abuse and human violence.
Cock-fighting and dog-fighting also plague the community, often involving guns, drugs, gangs, prostitution, and other violence.
Children are routinely taken to these events, indoctrinating yet another generation of animal abusers.
The Animal Cruelty Unit will be staffed by several dedicated prosecutors working alongside local law enforcement, including SPCA Humane Officers who investigated over 1200 cases of animal neglect/cruelty last year.
The Unit’s mission is to make our community safer by fully enforcing the animal protection laws to break the connection between animal abuse and human violence through education, prevention, and prosecution.
