Stephens Co. Hosts Animal Cruelty Class for Law Enforcement

A course on animal cruelty and fighting investigations brings about a dozen law enforcement agencies to Stephens County.

The Stephens County Marshal’s Office, Toccoa-Stephens County Animal Control Department, and Humane Society of the United States put on the course Wednesday at the Stephens County Senior Center in Toccoa.

Toccoa-Stephens County Humane Shelter Director Jeff Roberts said the course covered a number of topics related to animal cruelty and animal fighting.

He said the course was designed to detail some of the specifics on what to look for in these types of cases.

“This was basically detailing information on how to successfully develop a case, some things to look for while you are investigating a case, some things to look for that you might not know of, tools and equipment used by dogfighters, so that you have a better idea of what to look for when you are doing an investigation,” said Roberts.

Roberts went on to say that properly investigating and pursuing these cases is very important because they can often be associated with other felony crimes.

“It is key to realize the correlation to other kind of cruelty and abuse situations and that is why most people that have been charged with abuse of individuals or children or spouses, most of them have a prior history of abuse and animal cruelty,” said Roberts.

Topics covered during the course included the investigative process on animal fighting and animal cruelty, knowing and applying the laws on the topics, and recognizing and collecting evidence in such cases.