Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen is making the prevention of animal cruelty a priority by reinstituting the Bernalillo County Animal Cruelty Task Force.
The task force originally began in 2017, but was disbanded a few years later, Allen told KOB 4. This time the task force will apply its resources to investigate, prevent, and respond to animal abuse cases.
Allen said that prosecuting those who commit animal cruelty is important because of its link to more serious crimes against humans.
“You see that animal cruelty and animal abuse is a root cause of what they continue to do,” Allen told KOB 4. “It’s a huge red flag on what could happen later in the future in that person’s life.”
Allen said the task force will work with animal welfare advocates like Angela Stell, the founder and director of NM Dog. Stell indicated she is excited to work with the task force and other interested agencies. “You can’t just go in from one angle,” Stell told KOB 4. “You need to go in from all angles.”
Stell’s said it's important all agencies involved develop more collaboration and clear communication. “It’s definitely better when we have this active working entity where we’re all working together on a regular basis and cross-reporting when something comes up in the field,” Stell said. “I think this is just more empowering for everybody involved and it’s going to result in better outcomes for the criminal cases and for the animals and for our community.”
All involved agree there is room for education and making the community better for pet owners overall.
“Everyone’s going to talk about ‘Oh you care more about animals than human beings,’ but I think again education– if they saw the link to domestic violence and violent crime it would change their minds,” Allen said.
Stell said unity between partners should help the task force have the most impact. “We’re together,” Stell said. “We’re united on this we’re all here for the same reasons, to make our community safer.”
Logistics for the task force are still being developed and will include the public’s input.
