What is the Humane Law Enforcement Department?
We are a law enforcement department within the ASPCA. We have nothing to do with the New York City or state police. We are a mini-functioning police department within a humane organization, which is kind of cool. That is cool. A lot of people don’t realize that the ASPCA is the oldest humane organization in the country. We were the first and have been around since 1866 when the state of New York granted us the power to do law enforcement to protect animals. Our founder, Henry Bergh, realized that animals needed protection against abuse. How do you describe what you do? We are the animal police. We investigate crimes against animals, meaning cruelty — whether it’s neglect of an animal or physical abuse of an animal. What types of animals do you protect? Dogs, cats, and horses are the main animals that we see in the city, but we protect all animals against cruelty. Do you do anything else besides investigations? That’s all we do. We don’t do animal control. We’re not picking up stray do
