Florida Starts Special Animal Abuse Prosecution Unit

Florida’s State Attorney recently formed a special team of prosecutors in his office that will work in tandem with law enforcement and humane organizations to hold animal abusers accountable to the law. Jeffery Ashton of the Ninth Judicial Circuit for Orange and Osceola Counties created this new team because there were too many animal abuse cases for the main prosecution unit to handle, and cases were falling through the cracks. The unit’s staff consists of Ashton and 13 assistant state attorneys (ASAs) who have volunteered to investigate these cases in addition to their regular workload. “We know there are studies that show a strong correlation between animal abuse and other forms of violence, including domestic,” Ashton said. “Abuse of any kind cannot be tolerated, and I’m proud of our ASAs who have volunteered for this effort.”