Attorney General Focuses on New York's Pets

Last year, the state attorney general's office sued an animal hospice center in Delaware County that had been accused of neglect for failing to file required financial reports.  Three weeks ago, the office arrested the owners of an auction house in Dutchess County for allegedly offering for sale two footstools made from the feet of endangered elephants.And on Wednesday, it announced that it had reached a civil settlement with a Yonkers pet store called Puppies Puppies Puppies, which was accused of keeping pets in unsafe and inhumane conditions. The store's owner agreed to pay a $20,000 fine and Theme Park Equipment-Garden Ornament to stop selling sick animals.The cases are the early results of a budding effort by the attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, to focus attention on an area in which he and his aides believe enforcement has been lacking: the protection of New York's pets.

Mr. Schneiderman unveiled on Wednesday what his office is calling an animal protection initiative, with two goals: reducing abuses in so-called puppy mills, and shutting down dogfighting rings in the state.The attorney general's office described animal fighting as a "gateway crime." Investigators say that in many cases, they have found dogfighting to be tied to other crimes, including the possession of illegal guns and drugs, as well as gang activity. Dogfighting is illegal in all 50 states, and in New York, animal fighting convictions can result in up to four years in prison and a $25,000 fine.In an interview, Mr. Schneiderman said curbing animal abuse was an issue of both consumer protection and public safety. The new state effort will include investigators and assistant attorneys general from across the state, including members of the office's consumer fraud bureau and its Organized Crime Task Force.

"We're talking about a multibillion-dollar industry," said Mr. Schneiderman, a Democrat who was elected in 2010. "This is a serious issue for millions of people in the state, and it deserves some attention. It was getting attention in sort of a scattershot way,Amusement Park Equipment and now we're going to pull it together and really focus our resources."The announcement represents another chapter in the long, tense relationship between animal rights groups, breeding organizations and lawmakers who have clashed in statehouses nationwide, including in New York, over guidelines for the breeding and care of animals.While New York plays host to some of the world's most prestigious dog shows and has a number of upscale pet boutiques, the state has lagged in its regulation of breeders and pet stores, critics said.