Animal Legal Defense Fund’s All-New App Gives Smartphone Users an Easy Tool to Protect Animals

ALDF Crime Tips is a first-of-its-kind app designed to help you help animals—by letting you report abuse and neglect of animals in your community right from your phone.

At the 2012 Animal Law Conference, Dr. Maya Gupta spoke on the link between domestic violence and animal cruelty. ALDF followed up with this interview to get more details.

Students Distribute Pamphlets and Peacefully Protest the Killing of an Indiana Family’s Dog

In this continuing series of updates on former Student Animal Legal Defense Fund members, ALDF is proud to spotlight Emily Davidsohn.

I've written in the past about how important it is for animal cruelty prosecutors to "take the high road" and be scrupulously ethical. As I've studied and considered the issue further, it has occurred to me that an even more fundamental ethical issue presents itself with disturbing frequency -- the failure of prosecutors to prosecute animal cruelty adequately or at all.

Animal Legal Defense Fund Represents Farmed Animal Sanctuaries Who Rescued Almost 4,500 Birds

Wayne County, Michigan
Act now!

Urge the USDA not to renew the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) license of Jambbas Ranch in Fayetteville, N.C. due to its repeated and ongoing violations, resulting in the suffering of Ben, a solitary bear, and the other animals kept there.

Roadside Zoo Allowed to Subject Bear and Other Animals to Inhumane Conditions Despite Repeated Violations of Welfare Laws

Michael A. Tabor of Branson, Missouri tied a 9-month-old colt to the back of a minivan and drove at speeds approaching 35 MPH. The reason? He wanted to halter break this poor young horse.

Shocking Fatalities Among Monkeys at Lab Prompt Inquiry to Cambridge Public Health Department

For Seaquarium Owners, Exploiting an Endangered Whale Is Just Business as Usual

Last year, "Windchill's Law" was introduced in the Wisconsin Senate, but it fizzled as the legislative session ended. In a continued effort to strengthen animal abuse laws, state legislators are trying to revive the bill during the current legislative session.

In order to effectively prosecute those who harm animals there needs to be a collaborative effort among agencies and individuals. Animal cruelty cases are unique because none of the "victims" are able to tell the authorities what happened. Therefore, there is a need for the expertise of a veterinarian or other animal health care professional in nearly every case.

An estimated 50,000 chickens were found starving on a Stanislaus County farm after they were left without feed for over two weeks. Homes are needed for surviving hens, who will be ready for adoption in a week or two. Please visit Animal Place's adoption page if you can help.

Meet National Justice for Animals Week's mascot Teagan, a little German shepherd who endured a life of severe neglect and abuse before she was miraculously rescued.

In May 2008, Christopher Comins shot two Siberian husky dogs that had come onto an Orange County, Florida property where Comins happened to be walking.

Farmed animals have been left unprotected from cruelty laws for too long.

Especially where groups of neighboring urban buildings are involved, empty foreclosure properties present an increasing challenge for law enforcement as incoming criminals replace outgoing residents.

Animal Legal Defense Fund and Compassion Over Killing Seek to Stop Abuse of Newborn Chicks Following Undercover Investigation

Factory farms, also known as concentrated animal feeding operations, house hundreds or thousands of animals in very small spaces. Many of the animals on factory farms live their entire lives in cramped, dirty conditions just eating and excreting.

Fresno County, California
Bench warrant issued.

Contact your legislators and let them know that you are concerned about animal abuse and domestic violence in your community.

Maybe it's time for the legislature of Florida and other states to start explicitly treating animals like the victims they, so very often, tragically are.

So reads the headline of one of the many news stories on the trial and sentencing of Diane Eldrup who operated a "shelter & boarding facility" in Deer Park, IL, named "Muddy Paws."

Help ban private ownership of exotic animals in Ohio!

What Is a Dog Worth? Oral Argument in Heartbreaking Case Addresses How Our Legal System Values Companion Animals

What you can do help establish mandatory minimum sentences in aggravated forms of animal abuse? Educate yourself and then act

Kern County, California
Case Closed

Was Off-Duty Law Enforcement Officer Actually in Fear of his Safety When He Shot and Killed his Neighbor's Chihuahua with a Bow and Arrow? Kansas Prosecutors Don't Think So...

Veterinarians play an integral role in the fight against animal cruelty. Download ALDF's quick reference guide for state by state information regarding veterinarians' duty to report suspected animal cruelty.

The Los Angeles City Council moved to make it illegal to buy animals from vendors on public streets or sidewalks.

The expertise seasoned prosecutors bring to the charging process reflects the complexities which often determine the possibility of going forward with a criminal prosecution.

As a prosecutor for the past 15 years specializing in animal cruelty cases, I've come to realize that education, i.e., raising sensitivity, is key to making progress in the fight for animal rights.

Join us today to win animals the legal protection they deserve.

Win real justice for animal victims like Rosco.

Peter Bower of Shelby, Ohio, was arrested on May 18th, 2011, and charged with two counts of animal cruelty after allegations that he had sex with three companion dogs and possibly a horse owned by a local equestrian center.

Contact your legislators and urge them to pursue laws which protect humans and animals from violence.

The Los Angeles Times recently reported that the alleged "sport" of greyhound dog racing is in steep decline in America. Animal activists have long fought for the end of such racing, citing the horrendous conditions in which most of the dogs are kept.

Patrick's plight moves many to action.

For those who practice animal law, a persistent debate rages on: of the many options available, which legal path is the best course to take to improve the plight of animals in the United States?

Great news from Baton Rouge, where Judge Michael Caldwell has ruled in favor of the Animal Legal Defense Fund and Louisiana taxpayers in our lawsuit to free Tony the Tiger from the Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, Louisiana.

A Wisconsin court did not buy the recent argument of two brothers that the Wisconsin animal cruelty statute did not apply to their actions in killing several deer, no matter how cruel or senseless, because they were engaged in taking "wild animals."

This tragic case not only provides a disturbing reminder of the link between cruelty to animals and domestic violence, but also a reminder on the dangers of "free to good home" ads.

Baker County, Florida
Case Closed

National Elephant Day you ask? Perhaps it's not the most Hallmark-ready holiday, but it's a day of celebration nonetheless.

Russell Swigart's parole was denied after breaking into his former co-worker's home and brutally stabbed two of her cats to death. Bridgett, the cats' guardian, sent us this letter to express her deep gratitude to all of her supporters.

The veterinarian told us Justin was rescued "just in time" after the Suffolk County, New York SPCA removed him from a foreclosed house in May 2010 where he was left abandoned with no food or water. Justin at the time of his rescueWeighing only 19 pounds, he was a skeleton with skin.

Today's daily action for National Justice for Animals Week is: suggest a caption for the recent photo of Justin, the week's official mascot.

Joshua Crain has been an Assistant District Attorney General in McMinnville, Tennessee, since July 2005. Joshua has aggressively prosecuted several animal abuse cases, three of which have made their way into Circuit Court.

Robin Gordon served as North Dakota's State Attorney in McHenry County from 1999 to 2010. During that time Robin worked on many animal cases -- most notably a hoarding case in which 18 dogs were removed from deplorable conditions in a trailer in Deering, North Dakota.

As a State Prosecutor with the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General in Los Angeles, Tannaz Kouhpainezhad, also a professor of animal law, has a perfect record of obtaining affirmances on animal cruelty appeals.

Susan Abrams Dannelly has served as the Assistant State Attorney of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of the State of Florida since 1978. Susan is known as a tough prosecutor of murder and rape cases, but she has also worked hard to gain convictions in heinous animal cruelty cases.

Deschutes County Sheriff Larry Blanton has been in law enforcement in Oregon for more than 30 years. Sheriff Blanton was instrumental in creating the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office 23-acre Livestock Rescue & Shelter, a facility dedicated to caring for large animals seized in criminal cruelty cases.

Gregory Vincent was elected as Edmonson County Attorney in 1998 and continues to hold the position. Determined to win justice for the birds abused in one of the largest cockfighting operations in the Southeast, Gregory is currently aggressively prosecuting the case.

Jamie Contreras is currently Assistant Attorney General in the appellate division with the Oregon Department of Justice in Salem, Oregon. She is working on a potentially precedent-setting cruelty case appeal, in which she is arguing that the court should recognize that abused animals are indeed individual "victims."

Thank you to everyone who signed the petition and wrote letters to the Kentucky Parole Board!

Kenton County, Kentucky
Case Closed

While the appellate opinion in the Kern County, California, Bemis/Trapani case is limited in scope, the underlying casework serves as an excellent example of a prosecutor's need to address three key issues in an animal hoarding prosecution.

Please help ALDF speak out for sled dogs by asking the corporate sponsors of events like the Iditarod to withdraw their support. Thanks to your efforts we've already overloaded the inboxes of the event's sponsors with thousands of emails.

This week, a shocking report from the British Columbia Worker's Compensation Board was leaked to the media: The general manager of a dog tour company filed an application for post traumatic stress disorder, after having killed 100 sled dogs on April 21 and 23, 2010, as ordered to by his employer.

Shocking report out of British Columbia leads to reward offer.

Recently, Animal Legal Defense Fund attorneys filed suit against the state of Texas in the case Doe v. Suehs. The suit alleges that the state has done nothing to ensure that companies that produce eggs in the state comply with a state law which, in no uncertain terms, requires egg producers to not keep hens in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, and to attend to dead, injured, and ill hens.

Several criticisms were created by the sentence imposed by Plymouth County, Massachusetts District Court Judge Beverly Cannone in the Heidi Erickson animal neglect case.

On the third day of trial, Judge Bob LeBlanc dismissed the case against Christopher Comins, acquitting him of all charges related to the May 2008 shooting of two Siberian husky dogs in Orange County, Florida.

ALDF grant aids sheriff's animal rescue

Authorities charged Martha Montgomery of Randolph County, North Carolina with felony and misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty after seizing three horses due to alleged neglect in December 2010.

Michael Vick's federal sentence contains a three-year ban on the possession of a dog. Should it have been permanent? We at the Animal Legal Defense Fund certainly think so, but we have to recognize the jurisdictional limits inherent in our justice system.

In this Q&A session, attorney Scott Heiser, director of the Animal Legal Defense Fund's Criminal Justice Program, answers some questions and provides some clarification relating to the current debate about whether Michael Vick should be allowed to own a pet dog.

Help ALDF ensure that abusers are held accountable for their crimes by making a special year-end donation toward our work to protect animals.

Kern County, California
Case Closed

Kentucky, North Dakota, Idaho, Mississippi and Iowa are the five best states in the country to be an animal abuser, according to a new report released by the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

Concerned residents of Travis County and Gonzales County, Texas, represented by the Animal Legal Defense Fund, filed a lawsuit in Travis County District Court in an effort to stop the horrific abuses to birds and the human health risks posed by Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. -- the nation's largest egg supplier -- at its chicken-raising and egg production facility in Waelder, Texas.

Help protect animals from repeat abuse and bring justice to animal victims.

So Michael Vick played a great football game for the National Football League on Monday, November 15th. So do you think that the many animals Vick abused and tortured during his reign of terror at "Bad Newz Kennels," his interstate dog fighting ring, care about his athleticism?

Kristian Dennard Jackson & Decarlos Lashawn Young pled guilty today to animal killing/torturing and arson of real property.

Citizens Urged to Take a Stand Against Dogfighting by Attending the Hearing, Demanding Justice

Michigan: Please Attend Wayne County Court Proceeding on Wednesday Morning, November 17th

Wayne County, Michigan
Case Closed

Decrepit County facility brought under fire

The Animal Legal Defense Fund has often reported on the connection between domestic violence and the connection to cruelty to animals. The word is spreading even more this month: "O" Magazine, the official magazine of Oprah Winfrey, featured a piece in its "Live Your Best Life" section entitled, "Shelter from the Storm."

Were you ever that passionate? Were you ever that hopeful?

The Associated Press on September 16th reported that a man accused of dragging a "stubborn" horse alongside his truck has become the first person convicted by a Puerto Rico jury under an animal protection law enacted after dogs were thrown to their deaths from a bridge.

The Suffolk County Legislature unanimously approved a bill Tuesday, October 12th, to create a law establishing a county registry for animal abuse offenders. Suffolk County is home to 1.5 million human residents and an untold number of animal residents.

1.5 Million New Yorkers and their Animals Will Have More Protection from Repeat Offenders

Nation's first animal abuser registry could be just around the corner.

Please contact the zoos in your state and ask them to document their policies on "animal loans" for you.

Crucial Legal Victory Awarded in Animal Legal Defense Fund's Case to Secure Horses' Permanent Safety from their Abuser

GazetteXtra.com reports that because a Milton, WI, man has been accused of shooting a dog with a bow and arrow for essentially no reason at all, a state legislator has proposed a tougher law against pet assaults, making the type of crime allegedly committed a felony in the future, instead of a misdemeanor.

Deprived of legal protection, animals are defenseless against exploitation and abuse by humans. Check out ALDF's 30-second public service announcement version of our "This Is Who We Are" video.

Write a polite letter to the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services to oppose parole for this dogfighter, who is responsible for the suffering of many innocent animals in this violent bloodsport.

Charleston County, South Carolina
Case Closed

Check out ALDF's video about the dangers of leaving dogs in hot cars and suggestions for what you can do in your community to protect dogs from becoming "hot car" victims.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident" begins the famous line from the Declaration of Independence. I've got my own version: We hold these truths to be self-evident: that one and one is two, that the sky is blue, and that abused animals should not be returned to their abusers.

Due to South Dakota's consistent low rating in ALDF's annual State Animal Protection Laws Rankings, I read with interest a June 23, 2010 opinion that came down from the Supreme Court of South Dakota: State v. Fifteen Impounded Cats. While the Court's ultimate ruling is a desirable one, I take issue with the underlying reasoning used to get there.

In May 2010, at the Clinton County, New York home of Michael Malpass, police discovered six dead animals along with eighteen cats and three dogs suffering from severe neglect in conditions so filthy that the house was condemned.

Urge the City of Seattle to stop funding the Woodland Park Zoo's cruel elephant exhibit.