Led by U.S. Senator Ashley Moody, the LEO K9 Protection Act underscores the urgent need for dedicated federal personnel to prosecute animal cruelty crimes
Washington, D.C. — Animal Wellness Action, a national policy and political organization seeking to enhance and advance legal protections for animals, today applauded last month’s introduction of the LEO K9 Protection Act, S. 4643, by Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla. Named in honor of K9 Leo, a fallen Marion County-based canine deputy, the bill enhances criminal penalties for those who use a deadly weapon to harm or attempt to harm a federal police dog or horse in the line of duty, as well as state and local police animals assisting a federal agency. In the past year, 21 police K9s have died in the line of duty, including K9 Leo.
In addition to increasing the maximum term of imprisonment for convicted offenders, the LEO K9 Protection Act would allow first responders to administer emergency medical care to injured police dogs and horses. It would also direct the Department of Transportation to issue rules allowing EMS personnel to transport an injured police animal by ambulance or helicopter. The bill has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which Senator Moody is a member.
A companion bill, H.R. 4755, was introduced last year in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla. That measure is cosponsored by Reps. Cory Mills, R-Fla., Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., and Mike Lawler, R-N.Y. It has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Rep. Bean sits on the latter committee.
“Animals conscripted into law enforcement to identify and apprehend illegal actors deserve the highest order of protection under the law,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. “I applaud Senator Ashley Moody and Rep. Aaron Bean for leading the fight to halt violent acts against self-sacrificing animals who aid our men and women in blue.”
The LEO K9 Protection Act builds on the Federal Law Enforcement Animal Protection Act of 2000, 18 U.S.C. § 1368, which makes it a federal crime to intentionally harm certain federal law enforcement animals. That original law provides specific federal criminal penalties for attacks on animals used by federal law enforcement agencies, recognizing that these animals perform critical public safety functions for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Park Police,
U.S. Capitol Police, and other federal enforcement agencies. The LEO K9 Protection Act would extend federal protection to state, county, and local police animals when they are assisting a federal agency, recognizing that joint federal-local operations are common.
Animal Wellness Action said this new legislation underscores the urgent need for Congress to also pass the Animal Cruelty Enforcement Act, H.R. 1477, which would establish a dedicated team of federal prosecutors to handle animal cruelty cases. In February, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo recognizing that “[a]nimal cruelty represents a criminal threat that continues to escalate.” Yet to date, the U.S. Department of Justice has only one prosecutor assigned to animal cruelty on a full-time basis for the entire nation.
Both Senator Moody and Rep. Bean are cosponsors of the Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-Risk Trafficking (FIGHT) Act to combat the scourges of dogfighting and cockfighting. Senator Moody also worked to oppose the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s billion-dollar scheme to shoot 450,000 North American barred owls in an attempt to reduce social competition between two owl species.