Effort to curb animal abuse is laudable

By Linda Faso, Las Vegas

Wednesday, April 6, 2016 | 2 a.m.

I was at a meeting last week where Amy Ferreira, deputy district attorney for Clark County, spoke about a new task force to handle animal-abuse problems. She will handle any cases of this nature, along with child sexual abuse cases. This is no easy assignment, and I want to publicly thank her and the DA’s office for recognizing the need for this effort.

This didn’t happen overnight. For many years advocates for animals have worked on getting our cruelty laws strengthened so Animal Control and Metro Police have something to work with and can bring abusers to justice. For years it has frustrated them to not have the necessary laws in place to arrest someone for unspeakable cruelty against animals. Now that the FBI and many law enforcement agencies have made the connection that violence against animals often leads to violence against humans, they are taking a harder look at people who abuse animals. Jeffrey Dahmer is a perfect example of this rationale.

It is up to our community to do their part and call 311 when they learn of animal abuse. Their call may very well help stop some violence toward people. It is a huge step in the right direction and will make our community a better place to live. We deserve it, and the animals that suffer do as well.