Animal Law Podcast #107: Prosecuting Cruelty

Animal Law

Jake Kamins joins us to talk about his groundbreaking work as an Animal Cruelty Resource Prosecutor in the Oregon Department of Justice. This position, which was created very recently, not only allows him to prosecute animal cruelty cases but, perhaps even more importantly, also allows him to act as a kind of roving resource, as his title indicates, to District Attorneys’ offices around the state when they have an animal cruelty case that presents some of the many unusual problems that can arise in prosecuting animal cruelty that don’t generally arise in most of the other cases handled by these offices. This interview presents a lot of insights into those problems as well as what animal cruelty laws cover, what they don’t cover, and how important it is to have people who not only care but who are specially trained to deal with these issues.

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Jake Kamins is a Senior Assistant Attorney General and Animal Cruelty Resource Prosecutor at the Oregon Department of Justice. Jake has prosecuted hundreds of cases of animal cruelty and has trained law enforcement, animal services, and animal rescue agencies throughout Oregon and the United States. Jake also teaches the “Crimes Against Animals” class at Lewis & Clark Law School. In 2012, Jake was named one of the nation’s Top Ten Animal Defenders by the Animal Legal Defense Fund. In 2022, Jake received the National Animal Control Association’s Bill Lehman Memorial Award.

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc. is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

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