Ryan Ostry
Bugle Reporter
@RyanOstry_BR18
rostry@buglenewspapers.com
Each year, there are an estimated 900 to 2,000 new cases of animal abuse with 250,000 animals falling victim.
Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow hosted the second Animal Cruelty Investigation Essentials Seminar presented by the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) to discuss more about this growing epidemic.
“All criminal laws are prosecuted by our office,” Glasgow said. “One segment of those is animal cruelty.”
In 2012, Glasgow started a program called ‘Paws 4 Kids’ that offers furry friendship and canine comfort to children who have suffered the trauma of sexual abuse.
Having four animals at the State Attorney’s Office and three dogs of his own, Glasgow said that the growing epidemic of animal abuse is something that highly resonates with him.
“It’s very close to my heart because I have three dogs at home and on my bad days they bring me so much joy,” Glasgow said.
With this being the second time the event was hosted, attendees learned about investigating animal cruelty cases including hoarding situations, puppy mills, dogfighting, identifying and collecting evidence, veterinary forensic evaluations, the link between animal cruelty and other major crimes and animal behavior.
Approximately 70 law enforcement professionals, animal control professionals and representatives from humane societies and rescue groups attended the training.
“In a county as large as ours, we wanted to open up the seminar which was very successful last year to people who weren’t able to attend the event,” Glasgow said. “One of the most pressing and serious issues is we need to increase the sensitivity to the victims in these cases and also enhance the training the animal control officers and police offers have in this field.”
The ASPCA, who presented the seminar, is the first humane society to be established in North America and is, today, one of the largest in the world.
ASPCA organization was founded on the belief that animals are entitled to kind and respectful treatment at the hands of humans and must be protected under the law.
Headquartered in New York City, the ASPCA maintains a strong local presence, and with programs that extend the anti-cruelty mission across the country, they are recognized as a national animal welfare organization that is a privately funded not-for-profit corporation, and are proud to boast more than two million supporters across the country.
To coincide with the work that ASPCA does, July 29 marked the 20th anniversary of Illinois’ first-ever animal torture statute, which was written by State’s Attorney Glasgow.
This was the first law providing for felony charges in Illinois for the abuse of an animal, the law also calls for mandatory psychiatric evaluation of the animal torturer to determine the offender’s propensity to commit further acts of predatory violence against human beings.