How can I report cruelty to animals?
In NYC
Cruelty situations involving animals in New York City should be reported to the ASPCA's Humane Law Enforcement Department at (212) 876-7700, ext. 4450, or humanel@aspca.org.
Animal cruelty/neglect is not only wrong-it is against the law in every state in this country, and is a FELONY in many states! Animal abuse can also be part of a pattern of other violent acts within families and society. Abuse of any kind should be reported to the appropriate authorities immediately.
Outside NYC
You will need to find out the name of the persons in your area who are responsible for investigating and enforcing the anti-cruelty codes in your town, county and/or state. These people typically work for your local humane organization, animal control agency, taxpayer-funded animal shelter or police precinct.
To find out what agencies are authorized to investigate and arrest instances of animal cruelty in your state (i.e, does the enforcement of animal cruelty laws fall under the authority of the police department or animal control officers?), visit our state-by-state list of state anti-cruelty investigatory-arrest powers.
If you run into trouble finding the correct agency to contact, you may wish to call or visit your local police department and ask for their help in enforcing the law. Similarly, you can ask at your local shelter or animal control agency for help. To find contact information for your local shelter, check the yellow pages or visit the ASPCA's searchable database of nearly 5,000 community SPCAs, humane societies and animal control organizations.
Learn more about Reporting Animal Cruelty...
Know your state animal welfare laws. Click here to learn more about animal legislation materials for your state.
Here are some websites on cruelty:
For a listing of animal cruelty laws by state, please click here.
For issues pertaining to animals and the law, please log onto: