Kayte Wolf

Kayte Wolf is the Animal Cruelty Case Specialist for the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Criminal Justice Program. She provides training, resources, and case support to law enforcement, judicial, and animal welfare partners, helping strengthen the investigation process and promoting the successful prosecution of criminal animal cruelty cases.
Kayte has more than 13 years of experience in animal welfare, with a primary focus on animal cruelty investigations. Before joining the Animal Legal Defense Fund, she served in forensic specialist roles within the investigations departments at Oregon Humane and Humane Colorado. Since January 2022, she has also served as a commissioned agent with the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Animal Protection, assisting animal cruelty investigators, law enforcement agencies, and fellow agents with hundreds of neglect and cruelty investigations. Her case experience includes large-scale animal hoarding, rescue hoarding, uncontrolled breeding, non-accidental injuries, neglect, and overwhelmed caregivers.

Kayte holds a master’s degree in veterinary sciences with a focus on veterinary forensics. Her graduate training encompassed forensic evidence collection, forensic photography, veterinary pathology, animal law, and other disciplines directly related to animal cruelty and neglect investigations.

With extensive field and case-management experience, Kayte has worked alongside law enforcement, judicial partners, and animal welfare professionals on criminal animal cruelty cases from dispatch to disposition. Her work has included preparing and reviewing search warrant affidavits, drafting case reports, organizing case files, supporting courtroom preparation, evidence collection techniques, and applying veterinary forensic principles to help build strong, prosecutable cases. She has also coordinated and presented training for animal shelter staff, law enforcement agencies, animal control officers, and judicial partners, and has provided the public with guidance on responsible animal care and humane treatment under local, state, and federal law.

Outside of work, Kayte enjoys exploring nature and spending time with her dog and two cats. She also volunteers with animal shelters and horse rescues and has deployed with the ASPCA’s field response team to support disaster response efforts and a multistate dogfighting case.