Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office announced the first-ever Animal Cruelty Task Force for the county in an effort to help law enforcement refine its approach to investigating the troubling crime, which data shows is on the rise nationwide.
“Its purpose will be to investigate animal cruelty cases,” Hayden said. “To make sure that we’re implementing intervention and prevention strategies to prevent animal cruelty cases from happening in the first place and to hold people accountable for instances of animal cruelty whenever necessary.”
They were the halcyon days for dogs and cats awaiting adoption. During the pandemic, demand was so high for pets that shelters often ran short on animals.
Not anymore.
“I think that some of the people who adopted pets during the pandemic probably shouldn’t have,” said Neil Litvak, president of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA). “Or they were called back to work or suffered unexpected financial hardships.”