Dale Riedel, Vice-President of the ASPCA's Humane Law Enforcement, answers a few questions about what's it like to be a part of the ASPCA.
Q: What is the main mission of Humane Law Enforcement (HLE)?
A: The main mission of HLE is to investigate reports of animal cruelty. We receive complaints from the public; these calls lead to an initial investigation. When conditions warrant, an in-depth investigation will be conducted and when appropriate, arrests will be made.
Q: What kind of cases do the HLE agents investigate?
A: The HLE Department investigates cases of animal cruelty. Acts of violence or neglect perpetrated against defenseless animals is considered animal cruelty. Examples of animal cruelty can be anything from neglect(denying food, water, or shelter), abandonment, the fighting of an animal, or intentional abuse. Animal cruelty is a crime. Although the laws vary from state to state, approximately 31 states do have laws that make certain acts of animal cruelty felonies, while the rest treat animal cruelty as a misdemeanor. The agencies that enforce animal cruelty laws also vary from state to state; in some states the power to enforce laws is granted by the government to local police departments or humane law enforcement agencies.
Q: How do you interact with New York's other law enforcement agencies?
A: When we enter a scene there may be other criminal acts taking place besides animal cruelty. When this occurs we ask other law enforcement agencies step in. Also, if we need more manpower, we might ask for assistance.
Q: What are HLE's biggest challenges?
A: I think our biggest challenge is expanding our influence in the New York metropolitan area. We also need to educate the other law enforcement agencies on animal cruelty issues and who we are and what we do.
Q: What are some of the differences between working with the ASPCA versus the New York City Police Department (NYPD)?
A: There are a million differences. The biggest difference between working for The ASPCA vs. The NYPD is that The ASPCA is a private organization and The NYPD is a public organization run by the city. The way in which both organizations obtain their funding as well as the size of the two departments are also very different; The NYPD has 41,000 officers and we have 14. The NYPD also has many resources that The ASPCA lacks. They have specialized units such as homicide, evidence collection, etc. As an
Q: What have been some of HLE's most unusual cases?
A: We have had a bunch of them. We have had everything from an alligator rescue to a sheep running wild on the highway. In the case of the sheep, he had escaped from a slaughterhouse and was found running on a busy highway in Manhattan during rush hour traffic. An agent rescued the sheep and brought him to The ASPCA hospital for treatment of heat exhaustion. Fortunately, the story had a very happy ending; the sheep was successfully treated and sent to live at a farm sanctuary. In the case of the alligator, the superintendent of an apartment house in Brooklyn was keeping an alligator as a pet in the basement of the building. A tenant saw the alligator and because it is illegal to have alligators as pets in New York, he filed a report with HLE. The four-foot alligator was rescued from his small tank and taken to a reptile sanctuary in Long Island.
Q: Do your investigations ever become dangerous?
A: Yes, there is inherent danger in any type of law enforcement job. When you have a search warrant, you never know who or what you are going to find on the other side of the door. Often times the people hosting cock or dog fights are drug dealers who may or may not be in possession of a weapon.
Q: What is the hardest part of the job?
A: The hardest part of the job is obtaining sponsorship. A sponsorship from a law enforcement agency gives us permission to access certain information from them. For example, unlike other law enforcement agencies, we can't conduct background checks on suspects without being granted sponsorship. Accessibility is something I think other agencies take for granted.
Q: What is the best part of the job?
A: I would have to say that helping the animals is the best part. Animals are defenseless and don't have a voice of their own. Being their voice, advocate and protector is a job that I am very proud to have. Successfully closing a case and bringing the bad guys to justice is also very satisfying.
