Introduction. Agent Keith Streff. Humane Investigations: Animal Hoarding & Collecting

Transcription

1 Humae Ivestigatios: Aimal Hoardig & Collectig Aget Keith Streff Aimal Humae Society Golde Valley Campus 845 Meadow Lae North Golde Valley, MN Itroductio Backgroud o Keith Streff Why are we hear today Itet of presetatio Aimal Humae Society 2 Humae Ivestigatios 1

2 Topics of Discussio: Hoardig ad Collectig Cruelty to Aimals Statutes i MN Psychological Pheomea Buildig a Crimial Case Law Eforcemet & Humae Agets Commuity & Media Respose Available Resources Cruelty to Aimals MN Statute 343, Cruelty to Aimals Basics: Aimals must have access to food, water, proper shelter, ad exercise; Aimals must ot be tortured, abadoed, or treated i a cruel maer as to cause the aimal harm; Aimals may ot be used for fightig; persos may ot promote, egage, or act as a spectator at aimal fights; As of August 1, 2002, MN became the 33 rd state to make certai acts of aimal cruelty a feloy. Aimal Humae Society 3 Aimal Humae Society 4 Humae Ivestigatios 2

3 Aimal Hoardig Defied More tha the typical umber of compaio aimals Iability to provide eve miimal stadards of utritio, saitatio, shelter, ad veteriary care, with this eglect ofte resultig i starvatio, illess, ad death Deial of the iability to provide this miimum care ad the impact of that failure o the aimals, the household, ad huma occupats of the dwellig Illiois Law (510 ILCS 70/2.10); Public Health Reports article establishig this defiitio Aimal Humae Society 5 Profile of a Aimal Hoarder Research of 54 cases examied by Dr. Gary Patroek, expert i aimal hoardig, cocluded: 76% of aimal hoarders were female 46% were 60 years of age or older 50% lived i sigle perso households 78% of homes ispected were heavily cluttered ad usaitary Aimals ivolved icluded cats, dogs, farm aimals, ad birds Media umber of aimals beig hoarded was 39 (Four cases ivolved more tha 100 aimals) 80% had dead or dyig aimals foud i the home Estimated 700 to 2,000 ew cases of aimal hoardig every year i the Uited States Patroek, Gary (1999), Hoardig of aimals: a uder-recogized public health problem i a difficult-to-study populatio. Public Health Report. Aimal Humae Society 6 Humae Ivestigatios 3

4 Psychological Pheomea Aimal Hoarders ad Collectors Cliical vs. Physical Greed vs. Martyr Crimial Itet vs. Culpable Negligece Cruelty to Aimals; Statutes MN Statute , Duties of Police Officers Upo applicatio of ay aget appoited by the federatio or a couty or district society, it shall be the duty of ay sheriff or the aget s deputy or ay police officer to ivestigate ay alleged violatio of the law relative to cruelty to aimals, ad to arrest ay perso foud violatig those laws. It shall also be the duty of those officers to take possessio of ay aimals i their respective jurisdictios which have bee cruelly treated, ad deliver the same to the proper officers of the couty or district for custody ad care. Aimal Humae Society 7 Aimal Humae Society 8 Humae Ivestigatios 4

5 Statutes Cotiued Clutter cotributed to deadly St. Paul house fire Article by: KAREN ZAMORA, Star Tribue: March 22, 2015 MN Statute , Dispositio of Seized Aimals Subdivisio 1. Geeral Rule. Humae disposal Subdivisio 2. Security. Perso claimig iterest i the aimal Subdivisio 3. Notice; Right to Hearig. (a) The authority takig the aimal must give otice by these methods: 1. Descriptio of the aimal 2. Statemet that perso w/iterest 3. Statemet costs of care (b) Request of iterest must be made withi 10 days (c) Judge may authorize retur of aimal (d) Perso claimig iterest is liable for all costs A St. Paul woma died i a fire early Suday She had a lot of persoal property some would call that hoardig which made it more likely to have a fire because of all the combustible materials, Zaccard said. Ad it makes it more difficult to escape the fire, which may have bee the case here Aimal Humae Society 9 Aimal Humae Society Humae Ivestigatios 5

6 Too much stuff: Miesota cities cofrot hoardig Star Tribue, September 29, 2013 Buildig a Aimal Cruelty Case Officials statewide are tryig to resolve cases where extreme clutter is health ad safety threat. Faced with a steady ad apparetly risig stream of homes that are overflowig with garbage, filth ad just plai stuff, Miesota cities are marshalig resources agaist the threat to public health ad safety. While some cases grab headlies such as the duplex i ortheast Mieapolis that was razed last year after dead cats, aimal feces ad rottig garbage were foud iside more typical are homes that look perfectly ormal from the street but are filled with clutter.. Defiitios Crime Scee Evidece Foresic Pathology Evidece Collaboratio betwee Law Eforcemet, Veteriarias ad Humae Agets Aimal Humae Society 11 Aimal Humae Society 12 Humae Ivestigatios 6

7 Defiitios Foresic : pertaiig to a court of law Pathology : the sciece of the origi, ature ad course of diseases Foresic sciece : usig medicie for court related proceedigs Prove It! Cases are built o: Ati-cruelty laws Collectio of crime scee evidece v Photographs v Statemets v Eye witesses v Parapheralia Collectio of foresic pathology evidece v Veteriary reports, fidigs v Test results, x-rays, case history, etc. Aimal Humae Society 13 Aimal Humae Society 14 Humae Ivestigatios 7

8 Hoardig & Collectig Cases Hoardig & Collectig Cases Aimal Humae Society 15 Aimal Humae Society 16 Humae Ivestigatios 8

9 Ivestigatios Role of the Humae Aget Determie facts Determie source of complait Determie legal status v v Work with local law eforcemet agecy Work with city, couty, district attoreys Exercise coflict resolutio Foresic Evidece How the aimal died Where the aimal died Whe the aimal died Observed ijuries before or after death Clues supportig who killed the aimal Extet to which aimal suffered prior to death Aimal Humae Society 17 Aimal Humae Society 18 Humae Ivestigatios 9

10 Crime Scee Evidece Some crimial cases are easy to establish because of the evidece collected Law Eforcemet & Humae Agets Police officers are required by law to deliver a aimal to a appropriate shelter if it is foud to be treated cruelly (aimal is without proper shelter, water, food); Police officers are required to ivestigate ad arrest ayoe foud i violatio of laws pertaiig to aimal cruelty/welfare; a Police officer may be required to testify i a court of law about a ivestigatio Humae Agets work with local law eforcemet to procure search ad seizure warrats; Humae officers do ot have the authority to execute warrats without local law eforcemet ivolvemet Get to kow the Humae Agets assiged to the commuity i your jurisdictio you ever kow whe you will eed to work with them! Aimal Humae Society 19 Aimal Humae Society 20 Humae Ivestigatios 10

11 Commuity & Media Respose Woma Faces Charges after Rabbits, Carcasses Foud Scott Goldberg, Kare11 ews, August 2004 Rabbits -- both dead ad alive -- were pulled from a Twi Cities home Moday afteroo. The woma who lives there faces possible crimial charges for hoardig aimals, after 50 rabbits ad more tha 100 rabbit carcasses were discovered after a aoymous tipster called police ad complaied of the smell. It's just a deplorable, usaitary eviromet, humae society ivestigator Keith Streff said about the home i St. Athoy. Just imagie what 100 some plus aimals ca do over a five year period of time ad accumulate i feces ad urie ad other problem-related issues ad that's what you have i that house. Rabbit Case, St. Athoy 2004 Basemet I the 3300 block of Belde Drive, firefighters foud cages holdig the livig rabbits. A va i the driveway was filled with the dead aimals, each of which was labeled with the rabbit s ame ad date of death. Each oe had bee recovered from a freezer i the garage. It's ufortuate we ca't prevet these people from gettig aimals back, Streff said, as he recalled his visit to the same home five years ago. I August 1999, i the same kid of freezer, authorities foud more tha 80 dead rabbits. More tha 300 were foud alive but livig i filth. Five years ago, the woma was ot charged as a crimial, but may of her rabbits had to be destroyed. Some had the eurological Head Tilt disease, which is somethig ivestigators said they saw Moday, as well Livig room Aimal Humae Society 21 Aimal Humae Society 22 Humae Ivestigatios 11

12 Rabbit Case, St. Athoy 2004 Rabbit Case, St. Athoy 2004 Refrigerator Body idetified for evidece Bathroom Bodies collected for evidece Aimal Humae Society 23 Aimal Humae Society 24 Humae Ivestigatios 12

13 Rabbit Case, St. Athoy 2004 Available Resources AHS has veteriarias, veteriaria techicias, aimal care specialists, ad humae officers available to assist your agecy with a ivestigatio ad/or seizure upo request. Veteriarias examie rabbits Aimal Humae Society 25 Aimal Humae Society 26 Humae Ivestigatios 13

14 Questios & Aswers For additioal iformatio or resources, please cotact me at: Keith Streff (763) (direct) Aimal Humae Society 27 Humae Ivestigatios 14