The Michigan Attorney General’s office is partnering with animal rights group “Michigan Humane” to go after possible animal abusers. The partnership has already resulted in animal fighting charges being levied against a Wayne County man who allegedly ran a dog fighting ring.
Michigan Humane President Matt Pepper says many of those cases come from complaints his group received.
"A majority of our cases are education based," Pepper said. "It's about connecting people with the resources. People want to be good pet owners and we just need to help connect them to the appropriate services and resources to help them love and to do that. For those who don't care or it's intentional animal cruelty, those are the ones we work towards prosecution."
Pepper says and that larger cases require resources from both his group and the Attorney General.
"It’s often weeks if not months of investigation and putting the time in," Pepper said. "On her end, it’s designating some of her prosecutors and investigators to help us sift through that evidence to help determine when and what charges are Most appropriate. It’s a lot of time and a lot of expertise that go into these cases."
Pepper says large-scale investigations often start with complaints made to “Michigan Humane", which receives around 4,500 concerned calls each year.