DOJ, USDA Join Forces at Animal Cruelty Strike Force Roundtable To Boost Federal Prosecutions

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro on Monday praised the work of the Animal Cruelty Strike Force roundtable, which has brought together the Department of Justice and the Department of Agriculture to identify, refer, and prosecute animal cruelty cases at the federal level.The roundtable, attended by President Trump’s daughter in law, Lara Trump, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins, marks a significant escalation in federal efforts to crack down on animal abuse nationwide.“If you rescue an animal, you will be rescued yourself. So I thank God for them,” Ms. Pirro said. “Look, animal cruelty is not a footnote; it is a crime. It is a crime that is a gateway crime. It is very often attached to other crimes, drugs, dog fighting, gun trafficking, and domestic violence.”She pointed to the scale of the problem in the nation’s capital alone. “Right now, in the United States Attorney’s Office in D.C., we have 20 animal cruelty cases where animals are picked out and abused, shot, or beaten because they are the loved ones of a spouse or a girlfriend,” Ms. Pirro said. “Today is about making sure that we, for the first time in history, are at a level in the federal government where they are saying it’s time to get USDA, as well as the Department of Justice, involved to identify, to refer, and to prosecute these cases, and that’s what we’re doing. These animals cannot speak for themselves; we will speak for them,” she added. “And now, for the first time, we have the ability to do that. And I am so proud of everyone here.”The roundtable builds on a broader push announced by former Attorney General Pamela Bondi in February, when she unveiled a five-part plan to strengthen coordination on animal welfare crimes across federal agencies, according to a Department of Justice press release. The plan included a weeklong Animal Welfare Summit to train prosecutors and agents, a new multi-agency Animal Welfare Executive Strategy Committee, a law enforcement “Tiger Team” to assist with search warrants and seizures, continued use of the Asset Forfeiture Fund for animal care, and new grants for animal welfare groups and local law enforcement.“Animals are part of our families: we will always fight to protect the pets we love,” Ms. Bondi said at the time, noting the department had already rescued nearly 300 dogs since taking office.The federal government has already brought several high-profile cases underscoring the initiative’s urgency. In Los Angeles, federal law enforcement in August announced a $5,000 reward and a new FBI tip line for information leading to prosecutions under the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act, which carries penalties of up to seven years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.In Oxnard, California, Jose Manuel Perez was sentenced in May to nearly 5½ years in federal prison for trafficking at least 1,700 animals — including turtles, crocodiles, and lizards — into the United States from Mexico over a six-year span.And in Hacienda Heights, California, Raymond Nunez was arrested in March and charged with running a dog fighting operation and illegally possessing firearms after agents seized an AK-47-style rifle, a shotgun, and two injured pit bulls from his home, according to federal prosecutors.Together, officials say, these cases reflect a coordinated federal strategy to treat animal cruelty not as an isolated offense, but as a crime deeply intertwined with drug trafficking, gun crimes, and domestic violence — one that demands a unified response across agencies.

DOJ, USDA Join Forces at Animal Cruelty Strike Force Roundtable To Boost Federal Prosecutions

DOJ, USDA Join Forces at Animal Cruelty Strike Force Roundtable To Boost Federal Prosecutions

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