SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Humane Society is working to combat animal cruelty and put an end to an alarming number of animal cruelty calls.
Just this past week, the Humane Society took in a kitten that was thrown out of a moving car in Carmel Mountain Ranch on Sunday, July 31.
That’s just one case out of thousands of animal cruelty complaints Humane Society officers have responded to this year alone.
"We do see an increase in calls in violation in the summer. I would definitely say that summer does give us an increase of all types of calls," said Sgt. Regina Price, SDHS Humane Law Enforcement.
One of the most recent cases happened last week, when a 7-week-old kitten was thrown from a moving car in Carmel Mountain Ranch.
Officers say the kitten was rescued by a good Samaritan after being thrown out of what they believe is a grey colored sedan traveling westbound on Camino Del Norte at around 7pm July 31.
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"Right now we’re just looking for the community to come forward with any information that could help us. Unfortunately due the state of the injuries the animal had to be humanely euthanized to end its suffering."
In fiscal year 2020-2021, a total of 26,147 animals were seen by humane officers, of which 3,432 were investigated for animal cruelty.
That compares to the 20,400 animals seen in the field the previous fiscal year (2019-2020), of which 2,955 were investigated for cruelty complaints.
The Humane Society adds that it took on additional city contracts in 2020 and in 2021, which could be part of the reason the number of cases grew from the year prior.
But Price says it’s an issue that happens 'far too often' and must stop. She says often times animal cruelty cases are connected to domestic violence at home.
"We are finding that there is a very strong link between domestic violence among families which extends to animals. Financial hardship is a big reason. Also people don’t know that they have then resources that the humane society provides," said Sgt. Price.
Sergeant Price says the Humane Society is working closely with it’s area partners to tackle the issue at large.
"It’s very important that we have strong relationships throughout our different contract cities, with the police department, fire department and government of that city so that we can tackle these kinds of issues and also so that we are able to provide resources," added Sgt. Price.
The Humane Society offers resources for those who are unable to care for an animal. For more information click here
To report a case of animal cruelty or neglect, you may call 619-299-7012 (press 1).
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