Governor Cuomo has signed this bill (A.7207/S.5320) into law requiring the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets to work with the Municipal Police Training Council and the Division of Criminal Justice Services to develop training and training materials regarding the enforcement of the animal cruelty laws for police, and also to provide written and electronic information regarding the cruelty statutes for police agencies and officers, and district attorneys.
This is very important because even though police are mandated to enforce Article 26 of the Agriculture and Markets Law (encompassing the majority of New York’s anti-cruelty laws), most of their training focuses on Penal and Criminal Procedure Laws. Currently, provisions related to animals are not routinely taught in academies.
Now, thanks to passage of this bill, law enforcement will have the training needed to more effectively handle cases of animal cruelty, creating better outcomes for the animals and people of New York State.