Enforcement of Animal Laws
Who to Contact About an Animal-Related Violation
When a person or animal is in immediate danger, call 911. When the situation is not an emergency, first determine whether it is located within municipal limits, then report to the agency that has jurisdiction:
- In an unincorporated area, call your county’s Dispatch or the sheriff’s office.
- Within municipal limits, report to the municipality’s police or call your county’s Dispatch.
Reporting may be possible in person, by calling the non-emergency or “tip” line, or through an online form. If you are not sure who to contact, start with the shelter (if your area has a shelter).
How Animal-Related Violations are Enforced in Alabama
Enforcement of cruelty and other animal-related laws begins with observation. The initial witness may be an officer or may be a resident who observes or gains information about a possible violation and then reports to authorities about cruelty, neglect, or abuse or about an at-large violation.
Although you may hear or see things that you consider to be a violation, they may not necessarily be considered criminal acts that can be addressed by law enforcement or other authorities. For this reason, it is important to familiarize yourself with cruelty law and other animal laws so that you can determine what situations can and can’t be addressed by existing laws.
Reports of animal-related violations or concerns may be addressed by a civilian ACO or humane society agent or a law enforcement officer.
- If a violation is observed, and depending on the authority of the responding person, he or she may take legal action, such as by citing a animal owner, charging an accused person with a crime, impounding a dog, or initiating an investigation.
- If no potential violation is observed, the officer or agent may be able to only attempt to inform that a report was received and of the applicable law(s). In this situation, it is common that nothing further will be done unless you, as a witness to a possible offense, bring your information directly to the court.
If you your concerns are not being taken seriously, or if the situation continues, be persistent. Speak with someone in charge. Try to learn exactly why the situation has not been resolved. It could be that you have not provided enough information to allow the agency to act. It may also be that there is not sufficient indication of a violation. Sometimes, though, no action is taken even if it is obvious a crime has been or is being committed. In this situation also, it may be up to you, as the a witness to a likely offense, to bring your information directly to the court.
Enforcement Challenges
Enforcement of animal laws in Alabama varies widely based on:
- The priorities of police chiefs and sheriffs who decide what laws are enforced, enforcement procedures, and training topics.
- The level of knowledge of officers and investigators.
- The views of law enforcement officials: many view animal laws as lesser laws not worthy of enforcement.
- Collaboration between law enforcement agencies and the civilian animal control officers who rely on them.
There are animal control officers (ACOs) and law enforcement officials who know of only the earliest cruelty law, 1977’s Cruelty to Animals. Lack of awareness of the state’s other cruelty statutes and the differences between them can result in surviving dog(s) or cat(s) becoming victims of the legal system, held much longer than they should be. Further, many cases of felony cruelty are charged only as misdemeanors, or are not charged at all, due to lack of awareness of the existence of felony cruelty and/or lack of interest in enforcement. In such situations, it is appropriate to ask the sheriff or police chief why their office is not enforcing the criminal code of the state of Alabama.
A lack of clear legal definitions also creates issues with enforcement. As an example, the states’ criminal law does not define the word “shelter,” and the law is inconsistently enforced: in one place, officers may regard the ability to get under a mobile home may be considered appropriate shelter; in another place, a plastic barrel is considered sufficient.
Training in animal law is another hurdle. Officers certified by APOSTC (Alabama Police Officer Standards and Training Commission) are not educated about animal laws during mandatory training. Compounding the challenge, many ACOs are not APOSTC-certified and may have no formal legal training. These non-certified ACOs are civilian agents appointed by Alabama counties and municipalities in accordance with Alabama Codes § 3-1-13 and § 3-1-16. Civilian ACOs are dependent on law enforcement for both legal backing and physical protection, such as to ensure the safety of an apparently abandoned house prior to entering, and have immunity only when collaborating with a sheriff’s office or police department. They do not have the authority to obtain search warrants and have only the same power as any other civilian to press charges, for example, for an act of cruelty that they have witnessed.
Although it is true that civilian ACOs’ ability to act can be impeded when the law enforcement agencies they rely upon do not effectively collaborate, such as due to low prioritization of animal concerns, the remedy is appropriate backing from sheriff’s offices and police departments, not expansion of powers of civilians. The limitations on the powers of civilian agents is a critical protection for all residents against unlawful search and seizure, as guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and upheld by Supreme Court of Alabama in 1983’s Humane Soc. of Marshall County v. Adams, in which the Court concluded that § 3-1-13 “is unconstitutional on due process grounds.”
The effective advocate can counteract many of these challenges by learning about animal laws, appropriate enforcement, and steps to take if situations are not addressed.