Law and Order

A special collaboration: Israeli police cadets undergo advanced training at the Society in order to become familiarized with the Animal Welfare Law and its implications, to improve enforcement of the law and reduce cases of abuse

For improved enforcement of the Animal Welfare Law and significant reduction in occurrences of animal abuse, a special collaboration between the SPCA and the Israeli police was launched recently.

As part of a unique Israeli project, police cadets from Beit-Shemesh are undergoing special training at the SPCA. The objective is to reinforce the future police officers’ affinity towards animal rights issues.

The cadets learn about the Animal Welfare Law initiated by the SPCA in 1994. According to this law, it is deemed a criminal act to harm, abuse or abandon animals, and the law defines the enforcement mechanisms on the subject. In addition, the cadets learn about the Society, which is celebrating 90 years of activity, tour their grounds, get to know the animals and walk the abandoned dogs, some of which suffered abuse and neglect before arriving at the shelter.

Yaniv Ovadia from the Society’s Humane Education Department says, “We hope that the combination of instilling in the cadets the principles of the law and creating an emotional bond between them and the animals residing at the Society will reinforce the police cadets’ affinity towards the painful subject of animal welfare in Israel, and bring about improved enforcement of the law and a significant reduction in the number of animal abuse cases”.