A new federal animal abuse task force has been established in Los Angeles, according to an announcement by Acting United States Attorney Bill Essayli. The initiative is designed to prosecute violations of the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, a federal law enacted in 2019 that targets acts of animal cruelty involving interstate or foreign commerce and the creation of so-called “animal crush” videos.
“Animal abuse is among the most heartbreaking and despicable type of crimes that law enforcement sees,” said Acting United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “Together with our federal and local partners, my office intends to root out and punish those who profit from hurting animals.”
The task force will be led by prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Environmental Crimes and Consumer Protection Section. It includes participation from several agencies: the FBI, United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles City Animal Control, as well as other state and local law enforcement entities. The primary focus will be on prosecuting serious cases of animal abuse within the Central District of California.
This district encompasses seven counties—Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura—and serves about 20 million residents.
On its first day of operation, members of the task force conducted outreach in Los Angeles’ Skid Row area. They performed welfare checks on a dozen dogs to ensure proper care was being provided—including access to clean water and food—searched for signs of neglect or abuse, distributed resources such as collars and leashes, and seized one dog that had been abandoned.
Members of the public are encouraged to report suspected animal abuse at tips.fbi.gov or by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI.
