Mayor Karen Bass has made permanent a partnership stationing LAPD officers on Skid Row to investigate animal cruelty and illegal breeding.

The move, announced Aug. 12, formalizes a pilot program Bass launched in November 2025. More than 100 LAPD officers have completed animal cruelty investigation training. A full-time Animal Control officer has been stationed on Skid Row to respond to welfare concerns and issue citations, according to the mayor's office.

The task force impounded 58 animals and issued 16 citations from November 2025 through June 2026, with 10 arrests tied to illegal puppy sales, the Los Angeles Times reported. One man running a puppy mill out of an RV was sentenced to 14 months in prison for animal cruelty.

Another pleaded no contest to felony charges for beating a dog and breaking its leg, the Times reported. In June 2026 alone, Animal Services removed 15 animals from what Jacqueline Hamilton, the deputy mayor of neighborhood services, described as "problematic situations."

LAPD Operations Central Bureau arrested two suspects in June in connection with illegal animal sales in Santee Alley in the Fashion District, according to the mayor's office.

The city had disbanded its previous LAPD animal cruelty task force in 2021 during pandemic-era budget cuts, the Times reported. At its peak in 2009, that unit investigated nearly 300 reports of animal abuse and neglect a year.

Gabrielle Amster, general manager of LA Animal Services, told Spectrum News on Sept. 15 that enforcement remains difficult for spay-and-neuter violations because they carry only citations. "It is not a felony. No one is going to go to jail," Amster said. "And also, we can not take your animal away from you because it is unaltered."

Under LA city law, all cats and dogs over four months old must be sterilized. Animal Services has sterilized 90 animals from Skid Row over the past few months in partnership with the ASPCA and Best Friends Animal Society, Spectrum News reported.

The city has also distributed pet food and supplies to more than 200 pet owners and connected them to veterinary care, according to the mayor's office. Monthly clinics on Skid Row will offer vaccines, microchipping and spay-and-neuter services.

Victoriah Parker, co-founder of the nonprofit Starts with One Today, has served nearly 500 families and their pets weekly on Skid Row for a decade. She described conditions she sees during outreach: malnourished dogs, animals tied up around the clock, newborn puppies and illegal breeding.

Parker told Spectrum News her organization has rehomed 200 to 300 dogs over the past two to three years. About 20 to 30 more sit on a waiting list.

Federal authorities are also involved. The FBI launched a tip line on Aug. 11 offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to prosecution under the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act, known as the PACT Act. The federal law carries up to seven years in prison. Tips can be emailed to [email protected].

Amster cautioned that staffing must keep pace with the leads. According to LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia, who posted on X on Sept. 6, budget cuts have eliminated nearly 20% of Animal Services staff positions.