We have just learned that the Harris County District Attorneys' Office has made the decision to eliminate its Animal Cruelty Section. Houston was the first city in the state with specially trained officers for animal cruelty cases. Since 2006 (and officially in 2009), the Harris County District Attorneys' Office had a dedicated Animal Cruelty Section including a prosecutor and two criminal investigators. Because the investigation and prosecution of animal cruelty offenses are a specialty and require special training and dedication, cities and counties across Texas modeled their efforts after Harris County's work, often asking the prosecutor and investigators to help train their staff.

The elimination of this Animal Cruelty Section is a tremendous blow to justice for cruelly treated animals. The Animal Cruelty Section has worked hundreds of cases since it was established in 2006. In 2005, Harris County handled only 62 cruelty and dog-fighting cases. In 2011, the Animal Cruelty Section handled 234 such cases involving 849 animals. Also, most notably, in 2008 the Animal Cruelty Section coordinated a one of the nation's largest dog fighting busts resulting in over 47 indictments.

Please contact the following news outlets via letters to the editor and/or telephone calls advocating that Harris County District Attorney Mike Anderson reconsider his decision to eliminate this section. Please be respectful and point out the need for specialists in investigating and prosecuting animal cases in Harris County and the proven connection between animal cruelty and human violence:

WRITE:
1. Letter to the Editor of the Houston Chronicle - viewpoints@chron.com
2. Email KHOU and ask them to report on the story - Assignments@khou.com
3. Letter to DA Mike Anderson - Mike Anderson, 1201 Franklin, Suite 600, Houston, TX 77002, Fax: 713/755-6865

CALL:
1. Call KHOU and ask them to report on the story - (713) 526-1111
2. Call DA Anderson's office - 713/755-5800 

thanks for the info-this is heartbreaking- 

I am in shock and getting very depressed at this step back into the dark ages. I know there are thousands of wonderful animal lovers and advocates on this site and i know you will care. Please share far and wide. Call, email the contacts listed. We need all the help we can get to stop this evil man from dissolving this extremely needed division. Thanks.

You can find this link on Houston Humane Society's website. I swear I will have to move out of state...I will not bear to see the result of this. It's bad enough already..our animal control officers are so overburdened with the horrible amount of animal abuse, neglect and abandonment here. 

I just called the DA's office-it hasn't been removed, just moved- evidently they've had a lot of calls, barely got the words out, and she was answering me- 

I called back and they gave me the run around of WHERE they are moving it.. I pray they aren't just blowing smoke and trying to get people to stop calling and that they are moving it. But I don't trust most elected officials, lol. 

Just talked to a friend at the Humane Society. They ARE blowing smoke. They eliminated most of the division...they downsized it to nothing. Belinda Smith, the DA animal cruelty advocate will only now hear cases of cruelty involving family members. The other officers trained in this specialty (Trina being one) are all gone or moved to a different job. Please keep calling and sharing. 

What's the premise for this decision? Can't be watching their spending, they never do that..so I don't get why... 

SSFG.. I asked that question and was transferred to a voicemail...left a message...will see if they call back and then I will post. Houston is a rich city...no excuse for this. Our new DA Anderson obviously doesn't have a clue about the epidemic in Houston or doesn't care. 

Thanks, PM. I was just curious. But don't be surprised if they attribute it to budget cuts.. 

I heard on the radio that they were combining this section with I believe they said something family related. They said with this move it will be in a bigger department with more staff and more attorneys so more can be done. I don't know if that is just their spin on it. 

they better not be blowing smoke, because from the sound of her voice, they're being deluged with phone calls-if they're lying they must know it'll hit the news fast- 

Houston is a rich city...no excuse for this.

Incorrect.

It's a city that is in debt, and owes a lot of money to a lot of people. 

How much did this cost? The DA was elected to keep costs low while punishing efficiently and effectively 

and also protecting the innocent- 

what about prosecuting lawbreakers, like dog fighting, etc-he's just going to do something if it's a family member? what about felony animal abuse? he's going ignore laws already on the books?? 

They always pick and choose which to prosecute. that's nothing new. 

not the best way to get re-elected- 

I'm sure that the federal grant that was paying for it expired so Anderson is combining domestic violence with animal cruelty in order to keep it around instead of getting rid of it. That's my 2 cents, I have no inside information. 

"Laws For Paws Blog". An update.

Sunlight Is The Best Disinfectant
Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis said “Sunlight is the best disinfectant” in praise of transparency in government.

On that note, I still have not heard from Sara Kinney, the Harris County District Attorney’s public information officer. Last week, I had requested certain information (including an organization chart) from Connie Spence. She referred me to the public information officer for information and documents that she could not provide.

I called and left Ms. Kinney a message last week. I still have not received a return phone call. Really, what IS the purpose of having a public information officer if she isn’t going to provide information to the public? And what is so secret about an organization chart and office statistics?

I was hoping to obtain actual facts to clarify what I have been hearing through the grapevine. If what I have been hearing is incorrect (the animal cruelty prosecutor being assigned a crushing case load of non-animal cruelty cases, the intrepid and highly trained animal cruelty investigator being shuffled off to the misdemeanor bureau, etc.), why not just present the facts?

Thank God and the Texas Legislature for the Texas Public Information Act. Tonight, I sent the DA’s Office an official request for documents pursuant to the Texas Public Information Act. The most important information will be the statistics for animal cruelty prosecutions over the past several years: how many cases have been filed each year, how many have resulted in convictions, and what the penalties were (amount of jail time and fines).

These statistics will prove useful in monitoring the track record for animal cruelty prosecutions in 2013. If the new District Attorney is committed to prosecuting animal abusers, then the number of cases filed, convictions obtained, and jail time/fines obtained should equal or exceed those statistics for previous years. I will keep you posted. 

Good for them! Hopefully they get answers soon and can share with us. 

This is what I read this morning! May not be the answer you're looking for but I thought I would share:

Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center --- Tuesday, January 22, 2013 --- Murray Newman
Animals! At the end of last week, I had a sudden onslaught of e-mails and questions about the Harris County District Attorney's Office recent decision to abolish the Animal Cruelty Division. I got a call for commentary from a local reporter. My wife asked me about it because she had received an email from Barrio Dogs, a stray dog advocacy group she is a member of. Another friend asked me about it because she got an e-mail from the SPCA.
My response was the same to everyone: Calm Down.
The structure of the District Attorney's Office has absolutely nothing to do with what crimes they will or will not prosecute. Mike Anderson made it very clear when he was running for Office that as long as a law is on the books, he plans on prosecuting it. Just because he dissolves a particular division doesn't mean he is going to cease trying those types of cases.
As I pointed out to the reporter I spoke to, Pat Lykos was a savvy politician and she knew that you just couldn't go wrong by promoting a division that everyone could get behind. She touted the fact that she had an Animal Cruelty Division at the District Attorney's Office and animal lovers across the county rejoiced.
Who wouldn't get behind the idea of a specialized division that prosecuted the type of people who hurt animals?
But here's the deal, folks -- you don't have to have a specialized division to prosecute every crime.
There are certain types of crimes that necessitate a specialized division to handle them. White Collar crimes demand prosecutors that know how to interpret voluminous financial records. Child Abuse crimes demand prosecutors that know how to interpret forensic examinations of children and know how to deal with child witnesses. Vehicular crimes demand prosecutors that can understand accident reconstruction reports and intoxilyzer results.
In other words, specialized divisions of the District Attorney's Office should be based on those types of crimes that demand specialized knowledge.
Prior to 2006, there wasn't a specialized division that handled animal cruelty. The rank and file prosecutors of each court handled those types of cases. It was just part of the repertoire of what we all handled in the court. If someone harmed an animal, a prosecutor tried the case. They were straight-forward and not all that difficult to handle.
As it turns out, getting fired up about prosecuting people who hurt animals is not that difficult, either.
I understand that it is easy to get alarmed when an animal advocacy group announces that Mike Anderson's District Attorney's Office is abolishing the Animal Cruelty Division. The reality, however, is that he is trying to stabilize the financial disaster that he inherited from his predecessor. Part of that plan is consolidating specialty divisions and keeping the courts running effectively.
My advice to those who are worried about the ramifications of the dissolution of the Animal Cruelty Division is simple: just hang on for a minute. If you feel that people are getting away with harming animals because of this decision, let's talk then. I don't think that's going to happen.
In the meantime, don't make the snap decision that a shuffling of personnel means the failure to prosecute a crime that is near and dear to so many of our hearts. 

If you feel that people are getting away with harming animals because of this decision, let's talk then. I don't think that's going to happen.


Even with a specialized division for animal cruelty, people get away with harming animals EVERY day because they are "just animals" and don't matter in the eyes of the law. If people are getting away with it when it has specialized attention, what will happen now?

*SIGH* 

Just called KHOU and they said they are going to do a story on it at either the 5 or 6 pm news today. Next call DA's office!
Make some noise, people! Sometimes the squeaky wheel gets the grease! We'll see. 

Ok, so just called da's office. As previously stated, they may be blowing smoke. The woman told me they are putting animal cruelty with special victims??? I questioned how that was going to help animal cruelty investigations. She said they may get more attention??? Of course I find that hard to believe! Such a shame!!! 

It's well known that the Harris County DA office is a financial train wreck. Cutting costs by combining divisions makes sense...except to the animal nazis. The animal nazis would prefer to keep the animal cruelty division intact, and divert money from other divisions which prosecute crime against people, such as child abuse.

Why do the animal nazis hate people and children so much? 

LC....we don't hate children or people. Many of us volunteer and give to other charities. I was a Big Sister for 12 years and my DH and I give to Veterans (he's a Vet) and many other charities. Just because we know there is an epidemic of animal overpopulation, abuse and cruelty and we want to help doesn't make us ignorant of other causes. 1.2 MILLION homeless dogs in Houston is NOT normal.

Dog's can't go to the many organizations available for help like humans can. They can't drive or speak...so we have to be their voices.

We have had this conversation over and over with people like you. You go help the children and adults and let us help animals. At least we are doing something.

Oh, and I was a Social Worker before my current job...working with sexually abused children. Is that enough caring for you, lol? I quit because it was too heartbreaking. I felt I was more effective working with dogs. 

It's well known that the Harris County DA office is a financial train wreck. Cutting costs by combining divisions makes sense...except to the animal nazis. The animal nazis would prefer to keep the animal cruelty division intact, and divert money from other divisions which prosecute crime against people, such as child abuse.

Why do the animal nazis hate people and children so much? 

Get real. If you knew what you were talking about you would be concerned too. Serial killers start out as animal abusers. If there were harsher punishments and mandatory counseling was implemented that would help people as well.

I for one love children, so you're wrong there. How many people do you know that would drive away from a starving child they see on the side of the road? Or drive away and not look back when they see a child get hit by a car. Slim to none (hopefully none). Now ask yourself the same questions for an animal. It's a lot more. Heck, on this very site someone was getting rude comments about rescuing a dog saying she should have just kept driving. THAT is why I stick up for animals. Who else will? If that makes me an "animal nazi" so be it. 

Oh, and I'd rather be labeled an animal nazi than a heartless a-hole. 

Blah, blah, blah...


You want money taken away from prosecuting crimes against children to fund prosecution of crimes against animals, period. Therefore, you place the welfare of animals above the welfare of children.

Stalin and Hitler loved animals more than children, too. 

You want money taken away from prosecuting crimes against children to fund prosecution of crimes against animals, period. Therefore, you place the welfare of animals above the welfare of children.

Stalin and Hitler loved animals more than children, too. 

Please point out where I said to do that. Go ahead, I'll wait.

"You can judge the morality of a nation by the way the society treats its animals."
-Mahatma Gandhi

You're just a troll anyway and everyone knows it so not even sure why I bothered to respond to you. LOL. Carry on, troll. 

Pumpkin and Bite me... Save your breath - like you said...heartless aholes-can't shut em up! So just ignore them;) 

How about leave the DAs office alone so they can make the proper changes. The man has only been in office for 2 weeks and is trying to fix what Lycos broke. I'm sorry if animal cruelty is not his top priority. The press release said that they will prosecute such crimes still. 

Hope you're right soh! 

Trust me, there is a lot of work needed there. The DA's office lost a lot of good people when Lycos took over. 

You are so right sleightofHand, just last friday the new DA listed his roster of employees, their positions etc. Unless you are in the loop or know someone close to the situation you don't understand how the former DA mismanagered the office of DA, all in the name politics!! 

You're just a troll anyway and everyone knows it so not even sure why I bothered to respond to you. LOL. Carry on, troll. 

Because you're not sharp enough to know when your chain is getting yanked.