Webinar – 10/8/20 – Custody Considerations in Animal Control – NACA/Justice Clearinghouse
VirtualNACA/Justice Clearinghouse Present: Does your agency investigate and respond to criminal cases involving animals? How do you obtain legal custody of the animal victims? Animals are property under the law, which means agencies who remove them from their owners must ensure they are standing on solid legal ground. Agencies seizing animals in criminal cases face many challenges. Animals are the evidence of the crime but, with time, their conditions change. Wounds heal and illness and disease are treated. The evidentiary value of the animals’ condition diminishes as they recover. Therefore, by the time the case goes to court, the current condition of the animal or its presence in the courtroom is not necessary to make the case. Animal victims deserve to recover and be placed into a suitable permanent home as quickly as possible. This session will explore civil remedies agencies have to secure custody of seized animals.