We are thrilled to report the very first Animal Cruelty Investigation Unit within the El Paso Police Department! 

 This new six-member unit, which aims to crack down on those who abuse animals, is a direct result of the passage of Senate Bill 762.

As you may recall, our bill strengthened our animal cruelty laws so that heinous and violent acts towards animals can now be charged as felonies (with prison sentences up to 10 years).

EPPD said it will judge if it’s necessary to assign a detective with the Animal Cruelty Investigations Unit.

“We need to learn how to share the Earth that we have with animals. It’s not ours. The Earth is not just for humans; we need to learn how to respect and share everybody that is here,” said Sgt. Sandra Zamudio, a member of the unit, in an interview this week.

We worked tirelessly before and during the 2017 legislative session to pass this bill, which was authored by El Paso area lawmaker Rep. Joe Moody and Senator Menendez of San Antonio. We are grateful for the heroic work of Rep. Moody in passing this bill and for the El Paso Police Department’s commitment to ending animal cruelty.

We are so glad to see how Senate Bill 762 is leading to real change in local communities. Please support our work TODAY, so we can pass better laws like this tomorrow.