Leading Efforts to Prevent and Respond to Animal Cruelty
The ASPCA deploys staff and trained responders to rescue animals in crisis and mobilizes supporters to stand up against animal cruelty and eradicate systems that perpetuate it.
ASPCA teams work in close partnership with hundreds of organizations nationwide — including animal welfare groups, animal control, social services, veterinary groups and law enforcement agencies — all united in our mission to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals in the United States.
Swift Action, Lifesaving Impact
A Decade of Impact: Combating Cruelty Across New York City
Building a Stronger Case Against Animal Cruelty
Transforming Fear into Hope
Advancing Policies to Protect Animals
Advancing Farm Animal Welfare and Building a More Humane Food System
Swift Action, Lifesaving Impact
Whether responding to large-scale cruelty cases like dogfighting and puppy mills or natural disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires and floods, our expert teams provide critical, on-the-ground assistance to protect and care for vulnerable animals when they need us most.
In 2024, ASPCA rescue teams responded to requests for assistance and deployed to Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas.
When responding to cruelty cases, we help local agencies by providing investigative and legal support, operational planning, rescue, evidence documentation, forensic exams, medical care, emergency and long-term sheltering, behavioral treatment and placement of animals. We also support law enforcement, prosecutors and animal welfare professionals with expert testimony, legal guidance, training and consultations to ensure successful prosecution of these cases.
During disasters, our response teams assist with animal relocation, search and rescue, sheltering and placement. We also work with policymakers to enact laws ensuring animals are included in emergency planning and have a safe place to go when disaster strikes.
In 2024, the ASPCA mounted one of its largest and most in-depth disaster responses to date following Hurricane Helene. Our teams spent more than 30 days in the Southeast, working around the clock to provide much needed relief to shelters, pets and pet owners in impacted areas. In response to the devastation from both Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the ASPCA also launched a $3 million grant fund to support organizations helping animals impacted by the storms.
Pint-Sized Survivor Exemplifies a Community’s Resilience in the Wake of a Hurricane
While pivoting operations to provide pet food and supplies to the Western North Carolina community following Hurricane Helene, ASPCA Spay/Neuter Alliance staffers Dr. Michelle Amtower and Lawrence Hartje discovered a 6-week-old kitten under the hood of their vehicle. Two lucky breaks lay ahead: the kitten was surprisingly in good shape, and the auto shop employee whom Lawrence had called for help ended up adopting the kitten. The kitten’s story epitomizes the spirit in which the ASPCA continued to serve the community despite being unable to operate normally. Read more about this incredible story of resilience.
A Decade of Impact: Combating Cruelty Across New York City
In 2024, the ASPCA and the New York City Police Department (NYPD) proudly marked the 10th anniversary of a groundbreaking partnership to respond to animal cruelty across all five boroughs of New York City.
This first-of-its-kind collaboration brings together the law enforcement strength of the NYPD with the ASPCA’s comprehensive animal welfare expertise — including medical care, behavior assessments, forensic evaluations, legal support, sheltering and adoption support.
Since launching in 2014, the initiative has:
- Provided direct care to more than 5,000 animals suspected of being victims of cruelty
- Trained over 28,000 NYPD officers to identify and respond to animal abuse
- Achieved a nearly 300% increase in animals treated for suspected abuse
The partnership also prioritizes early intervention through non-criminal pathways. Referrals from officers to the ASPCA’s Community Engagement team have helped over 1,600 animals receive critical support and resources, preventing situations from escalating.
Healing a Dog Like Niko “Is What the ASPCA Does”
After suffering from multiple traumas from cruelty, including severe burns and fractures, a young Border Collie plowed through his treatment and recovery with resilience thanks to a dedicated team of medical and behavioral experts, physical therapists and foster caregivers. Helping heal Niko’s broken body and spirit “Is a good example of what the ASPCA does,” says Dr. J'mai Gayle, the ASPCA Animal Hospital’s director of surgery. Dr. Gayle repaired Niko’s broken femurs, oversaw his wound care and even fostered him. Today, Niko is living his best life after being adopted by a music teacher in Brooklyn. See Niko’s full story.
Building a Stronger Case Against Animal Cruelty
The ASPCA operates the nation’s leading Veterinary Forensics Program — an essential force in the fight against animal cruelty. With dedicated forensic laboratories in New York City and Gainesville, Florida, our experts work hand-in-hand with law enforcement, prosecutors and shelters to uncover how, when and where harm to animals occurs.
In 2024, the ASPCA's forensic veterinarians supported cruelty investigations in New York City through over 430 veterinary statements, 85 necropsies and expert testimony in more than 25 hearings. The ASPCA Gainesville lab, the first in the U.S. solely focused on companion animal cruelty, provided live animal exams, necropsies, skeletal analysis and training for professionals nationwide.
Complementing this work, the ASPCA Legal Advocacy & Investigations team opened or supported more than 75 cruelty and animal fighting cases and trained over 3,000 law enforcement and animal welfare professionals in more than 45 educational sessions.
With every case, we build a knowledge base for communities across the country so they can more effectively identify, investigate and successfully prosecute.
Transforming Fear into Hope
After animals are rescued from cruelty and neglect — often through our partnership with the NYPD — ASPCA teams focus not only on justice, but on healing. At the ASPCA’s Canine Annex for Recovery & Enrichment in New York City, we provide lifesaving veterinary care, behavioral treatment and enrichment to help dogs and cats recover, rebuild trust and prepare for adoption. In 2024, the Animal Recovery Center supported more than 300 dogs who were suspected victims of neglect or cruelty with services including behavioral assessments, daily exercise, enrichment and training.
The ASPCA Cruelty Recovery Center team, based in Columbus, Ohio, provides critical sheltering, medical and behavioral care for animals rescued from large-scale cruelty cases and disasters. Our expert teams help these animals heal, recover and prepare for adoption, giving them a second chance at life.
The Cruelty Recovery Center plays a vital role in enabling local law enforcement and animal welfare agencies to act in criminal cases by providing the resources and support needed to care for rescued animals, including setting up temporary shelters across the country. In addition to hands-on recovery work, staff share expertise with partners to help communities respond more effectively to animal cruelty and crisis situations.
In 2024, the Cruelty Recovery Center team cared for more than 500 animals from 13 cases and deployed multiple times to assist with rescues from cruelty and neglect, disaster response and support overwhelmed shelters.
At the ASPCA Behavioral Rehabilitation Center in Weaverville, North Carolina, ASPCA teams help severely fearful dogs — many rescued from puppy mills, hoarding situations and other cruelty cases — begin their journey toward recovery. Using more than 30 evidence-based behavior modification protocols, the team works to help these dogs overcome extreme fear, learn to trust humans and adapt to life as pets.
Rehabilitation Transforms a Once-Fearful Dog into a Confident Companion
Bailee, a stray dog, was completely shut down. At her county shelter, her level of fear made it difficult to place her in a home and put her at risk of euthanasia. For a second chance, Bailee was transferred to the ASPCA Behavioral Rehabilitation Center, where she was treated for her fears and adopted by a domestic violence survivor who could relate to Bailee’s story because of her own past. Today, Bailee is a completely different dog than when her journey began, having transitioned from fearful to confident. See Bailee’s full story.
In 2024, the Behavioral Rehabilitation Center significantly increased efficiency and impact, reducing the average treatment time from 19 weeks to 12 and cutting the time from when dogs graduate from rehabilitation to placement with adopters or other animal welfare organizations by 45%. Beyond lifesaving care, the team shares its learnings with shelters across the country, advancing the field of behavioral rehabilitation and expanding outcomes for vulnerable dogs nationwide.
Advancing Policies to Protect Animals
In 2024, the ASPCA continued to shape animal welfare policy at the local, state and federal levels — advocating for stronger protections for animals and empowering citizens to do the same through grassroots lobbying tools and training.
The ASPCA’s legislative and regulatory efforts created lasting impact, advancing key policies and influencing the development of laws across the country. By driving systemic change through public policy, the ASPCA helps protect countless animals from cruelty and neglect — now and for years to come.
Federal Highlights
In 2024, the ASPCA championed critical federal policies to protect farm animals, companion animals and wild horses. The Industrial Agriculture Conversion Act was introduced in both chambers of Congress to support farmers transitioning from factory farming to more humane, pasture-based systems or crop production.
During Farm Bill negotiations, the ASPCA successfully fought to exclude harmful language that would have undermined state animal welfare laws. The Senate’s draft included key provisions supporting farm transitions and requiring transparency on mass depopulation practices.
The ASPCA also supported the first-ever U.S. Senate introduction of Goldie’s Act, a bipartisan bill to strengthen USDA enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act. Backed by the Problem Solvers Caucus and more than 100 House cosponsors, the bill marked a major step toward accountability for licensed puppy breeders.
Congress again extended the ban on domestic horse slaughter facilities and maintained protections for wild horses and burros with continued funding for humane fertility control initiatives.
Through persistent federal advocacy, the ASPCA is driving national progress for animals in need.
Advancing Animal Protection Through State Legislation
In 2024, the ASPCA drove significant legislative progress across the country to expand protections and improve access to veterinary care for animals.
Florida enacted the PETS Act allowing pet owners to access veterinary care via telehealth, improving statewide access to services. In Colorado, voters approved Proposition 129 to establish a Veterinary Professional Associate role, expanding the veterinary workforce, and passed an ASPCA-backed law requiring local disaster plans to include pets and designate pet-friendly emergency shelters.
The State of Washington launched a new grant program to support pet-friendly warming and cooling centers and fund transportation for people with pets during extreme weather. In California, the ASPCA secured language in a $10 billion climate resilience bond to make pet-friendly resiliency centers eligible for $60 million in dedicated funding.
In New York, the long-anticipated Puppy Mill Pipeline Act took effect, banning the retail sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in pet stores, cutting off a key market for inhumane commercial breeders.
Through strategic state-level advocacy, the ASPCA is advancing laws that keep animals safer, healthier and more protected in their communities.
Advancing Farm Animal Welfare and Building a More Humane Food System
In 2024, the ASPCA advanced higher-welfare farming practices and educated consumers and companies about cruelty in industrial agriculture. The second annual Supermarket Scorecard evaluated the top 25 grocery chains on animal welfare policies, while over 60,000 ASPCA advocates pushed for grocery stores to make stronger commitments to animal welfare.
The ASPCA expanded its Shop With Your Heart Grocery List to include more than 40 new food brands, over 100 additional higher-welfare products and welfare-certified grocery delivery options. A new partnership with meat delivery company ButcherBox® led to sourcing reforms and introduced a healthier chicken breed to the grocery subscription market.
To help end the killing of day-old male chicks, the ASPCA collaborated with NestFresh®, Kipster and Certified Humane® to pilot and standardize in-ovo sexing technology — a process that would launch in the U.S. in 2025 — to identify which chicken embryos are male versus female while they are still in the egg during the incubation process. The ASPCA also supported Global Animal Partnership’s effort to phase out unhealthy broiler breeds in favor of higher-welfare alternatives.
Pet food reform gained momentum, with eight new brands joining the ASPCA’s Pet Food Progress Initiative, which works with pet food and treat brands to source products from higher-welfare farms. During hurricane season, pet food company Open Farm donated over 20,000 pounds of certified pet food to animals in crisis.
The ASPCA advocated for key policy reforms at the state and federal levels — including support for the Industrial Agriculture Conversion Act and stronger USDA labeling enforcement — and awarded over $114,000 in grants through our Fund to End Factory Farming. Since 2017, ASPCA support has reached 128 farms and improved the lives of more than 100,000 farm animals.