Bernalillo County has new program to fight animal cruelty

November 30, 2011

the fight against animal abuse is taking center stage in bernalillio county. today-- the sheriff's department and county animal care joined forces to launch a new program. marissa torres has more on the new inative. antoinette- it's no secret, animal abuse and neglect are extremely prevalent across minute thumbnail 12:02 pm bernalillo county. now officials hope a this new initiative will change that. and it's all starting with this 2 month old calf- ferdinand. a sheriff's deputy rescued him earlier this month. ferdinands mother had been shot to death, her body found near the metropolitan detention center. now the calf is the face of the pet project. the emphasis is on conducting state accredited training for sheriff's deputies on how to effectly spot and handle animal cruetly. " our goal is not to necessarily remove animals, but to allow animals to live a happy life in their home. It doesn't do me any good to take someones animal. It does however benefit the community to address violations when they happen." deputies will now actively target areas where there is a high call volume of people reporting animal cruelty. if found, it could mean fines even jail time studies have shown animal abuse is often linked to abuse against women and children. so now, if a deputy responds to a domestic abuse call, minute thumbnail 12:03 pm they'll also check on the animals. antoinette? s