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San Diego Humane Society’s Humane Law Enforcement has officers in the field seven days a week, handling a variety of animal cruelty complaints. Humane Officers get their enforcement powers from the California Corporations Code 14502, and can exercise the powers of a peace officer while investigating animal-related crimes.
While our primary focus is educating owners about proper care for their animals, we use the authority that we have been given to ensure every animal receives care as required by law. Animal cruelty encompasses behavior harmful to animals ranging from neglect or hoarding to malicious killing. Most cruelty investigated by Humane Officers is unintentional neglect that can be resolved through education. Intentional cruelty, or abuse, is knowingly depriving an animal of food, water, shelter, or veterinary care, or maliciously torturing, maiming, mutilating, or killing an animal.
Our Humane Officers also respond to and rescue animals from disasters in San Diego and surrounding areas with the assistance of the Humane Society’s 24-hour volunteer-operated Animal Rescue Reserve.
This year, San Diego Humane Society will save the lives of more than 30,000 animals.
- More than 15,000 homeless animals will find new homes
- Our foster program will provide a second chance to 3,000 sick, injured, or underage animals
- 16,000 animals will be examined in our veterinary medical centers
- Humane Law Enforcement officers will respond to more than 8,000 calls of animals in need
- Project Wildlife will care for more than 10,000 injured or orphaned wildlife
- Our surgeons will perform nearly 6,000 reduced cost spay/neuter operations on community-owned animals
- Our 24-hour-kitten nursery will serve as a safe haven to 5,500 newborn, orphaned kittens
