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Friends of Miami Animals Foundation (FoMA), the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), and Miami-Dade County provided a free daylong training recently on best practices on animal cruelty investigations and animal fighting crimes.
Officers from more than 10 county law enforcement agencies, field services, humane investigators, and code enforcement, as well as veterinarians and judges participated. The training provided individuals working in these fields with information and proven tools.
The training covered Florida’s animal crimes statutes, best practices for the collection of critical evidence and documentation; writing reports, warrants, and affidavits; conducting animal fighting investigations, and presenting cases in court.
“As we strive to make our communities safer, for people and animals, we must work together to put an end to needless suffering and death,” said Yolanda Berkowitz, president and founder of FoMA. “There is a proven connection between animal cruelty and violence against humans, commonly referred to as the ‘Link.’
“Research shows that people who abuse animals are more likely to also abuse people and commit other offenses, so animal-related crimes merit investment from our communities,” Berkowitz added. “We are grateful to The Humane Society of the United States for sharing their expertise and insight with our law enforcement officers and government officials, and to Miami-Dade County for co-hosting with us.”
The session was approved for continuing education units by the National Animal Control Association. Annamarie Cozzi and Adam Parasandola of the Humane Society of the United States conducted the session.
“Having worked with both police and animal care law officers, it is important to bring these entities together in the same room to discuss how each can help the other,” Cozzi said. “In animal care law, there are many specific niche things that if you don’t know what you are looking at, you don’t know what you are investigating. These trainings inform enforcement officers of the resources available when faced with these issues.”
Cozzi has over 20 years of experience working professionally with animals, as a vet tech, trainer, zookeeper, and law enforcement officer. For 12 years, she worked in animal law enforcement for San Antonio (TX), serving in both officer and supervisory positions, including time as the academy commander.
“This training is important because police officers around the country are tasked with enforcing the animal cruelty code, but receive zero training on animal cruelty law,” Parascandola said. “Officers often want to do the right thing, but they have to know how to investigate these cases when they come across them. That is why law enforcement needs to partner with animal services to educate officers about these issues.”
Parascandola is the vice president of Global Animal Rescue and Response for the Humane Society of the United States and its international affiliate, Humane Society International. In this capacity, he assists law enforcement, NGOs, and government agencies in addressing illegal animal abuse, animal fighting, and disaster response around the globe.
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