
FBI to release animal cruelty data
The FBI is about to release more than a year of animal cruelty data that law enforcement officers have entered into the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Police and animal control officers in some areas have recorded animal cruelty incidents since 2015 when they were reclassified from a misdemeanor to a felony, making it a serious criminal offense to harm an animal. Former FBI Director James Comey agreed to make animal cruelty a separate, reportable category of crime in 2014, a win for both law enforcement and animal advocates.