Target: Harold F. Pryor, State Attorney of Broward County, Florida.
Goal: Pursue swift, vigorous prosecution, restitution, and lifetime pet-ownership bans in recent animal-hoarding cases that helped push shelter cat numbers beyond critical levels.
Reports from local officials describe an escalating shelter crisis, with cat populations “beyond critical levels,” fueled in part by kitten season and multiple recent hoarding cases. In such situations, animals are collected in large numbers and then neglected—left without consistent food, sanitation, or veterinary care—until authorities intervene. Each hoarding incident can translate into dozens of terrified, under-socialized cats suddenly entering overwhelmed facilities.
These cases do not happen in a vacuum. They drain space, staff time, and medical resources, forcing shelters to scramble for emergency kennels, foster placements, and stop-gap programs like “working cats.” While community support is essential, alleged offenders must also be held to account so the cycle does not simply repeat.
Meaningful accountability saves lives: when prosecutors seek strong sentences—ownership bans, counseling, forfeiture of animals, and restitution to shelters—future neglect can be deterred and limited public resources preserved for true emergencies. Sign below to demand protection for vulnerable animals and to send a clear message that cruelty and neglect will not be tolerated and decisive criminal action in these alleged hoarding cases is urgently needed.
PETITION LETTER:
State Attorney Pryor,
Local animal-care officials have sounded the alarm about a shelter system stretched “beyond critical levels,” citing kitten season and multiple recent hoarding cases. Each incident can mean scores of frightened, sick, or under-socialized cats entering an already overburdened network, compounding suffering and risking preventable loss of life.
We respectfully urge your office to prioritize these investigations and, where evidence warrants, file the strongest appropriate charges. Please seek sentences that reflect the seriousness of the neglect: lifetime bans on animal ownership, mandated mental-health evaluation and treatment, forfeiture of any remaining animals, and restitution to shelters and rescue partners for medical and housing costs.
Robust prosecution in these hoarding cases will protect animals, conserve scarce public resources, and deter future neglect. We ask that you act swiftly so vulnerable cats are no longer made to suffer from avoidable, reckless accumulation and abandonment.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Santamarcanda
