This week, I wrote an editorial for the New York Law Journal on the importance of strengthening our State's animal cruelty laws to better defend our society’s most voiceless members.
In my time as district attorney for Queens County of New York, I have encountered countless cases involving cruel acts against innocent and defenseless animals.
Unfortunately, New York’s criminal statutes currently treat those who damage property more harshly than those who commit brutal acts of violence against these sentient beings who feel pain and suffer distress much in the same way as humans do. It is time to correct this imbalance and hold those who abuse animals fully accountable for their heinous actions.
In my office, there is a dedicated Animal Cruelty Investigations Unit to investigate and prosecute animal cruelty cases. The unit collaborates with law enforcement, veterinarians and pathologists, animal welfare organizations, psychologists, and social workers as a comprehensive, multifaceted approach to combating animal abuse.
We need to recognize the seriousness of animal cruelty crimes by allocating appropriate penalties for these violent acts and enact new stronger laws to protect these defenseless and voiceless victims. Doing so will not only protect our animals but will combat the oftentimes impending violence against humans as well. Violence should not be accepted in any form.
