2026年2月18日 / 美国东部时间下午7:23 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
据发送给所有员工的一份新备忘录显示，司法部长帕姆·邦迪周三下令司法部优先开展动物福利执法工作，称此举将包括加强起诉力度，并向动物福利组织发放拨款。
作为该计划的一部分，邦迪表示政府将组建一支执法”猛虎队”，协助执行搜查令和扣押行动。
她还呼吁成立一个战略委员会，该委员会将监督制定动物福利起诉手册，并实施一项打击”动物福利犯罪”的国家战略。
她的备忘录还要求司法项目办公室为动物福利组织和地方执法部门提供拨款。
这一计划出台之际，该拨款办公室正面临前所未有的延迟问题——该办公室传统上会向地方警察、少年司法项目以及人口贩卖和其他暴力犯罪受害者提供资助，但目前这些资金申请和发放工作严重受阻。
去年，司法部突然终止了约350项拨款，这些拨款涵盖从与地方执法部门合作开展社区犯罪预防项目，到为犯罪和性暴力受害者提供服务，以及为心理健康和药物滥用问题提供援助等多个方面。
“动物是我们家庭的一部分：我们将永远为保护我们所爱的宠物而奋斗，”邦迪说道。她本人养了两只救援犬，有时会被员工看到在司法部附近遛狗。
“我整个职业生涯都在打击虐待动物行为，将永远不会停止起诉那些伤害无辜动物的病态分子，”她在一份声明中补充道。
据哥伦比亚广播公司新闻获得的一份文件显示，在邦迪宣布这一消息前几个月，司法部就曾牵头与美国农业部、卫生与公众服务部以及大犬牧场救援组织（Big Dog Ranch Rescue，该非营利组织董事会成员包括劳拉·特朗普）的官员举行了圆桌会议。
在那次会议上，他们讨论了邦迪周三备忘录中提出的许多想法，包括组建”猛虎队”。
包括美国农业部在内的其他几个机构也在周三早些时候宣布了将为推进这一倡议所采取的措施。
《动物福利法》的执法工作主要由美国农业部动植物健康检验局（APHIS）负责，该局会派遣员工前往从养狗场到动物园等各类企业，检查其是否遵守法律。
大多数案件是通过行政手段处理的。
刑事动物福利案件通常由司法部环境与自然资源司或美国检察官办公室处理。
在过去几年中，大多数刑事案件都涉及动物打斗。
其中一个突出案例是，拜登政府时期的司法部在调查人员发现恩维戈动物研究繁育中心（Envigo）的一处场地虐待数千只比格犬后，对其同时以动物福利和环境犯罪为由提起诉讼。
2024年，恩维戈同意支付2200万美元罚款——其中1100万美元是司法部在动物福利案件中开出的最大一笔罚款——此外还需支付1350万美元，用于支持动物福利和环境项目、支付执法费用以及改善自身设施。
2022年，恩维戈被没收了约4000只比格犬，其中一些被包括梅根·马克尔和哈里王子在内的名人收养。
Bondi orders Justice Department to prioritize animal welfare enforcement
February 18, 2026 / 7:23 PM EST / CBS News
Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday ordered the Justice Department to prioritize animal welfare enforcement, in a move she said will entail stepping up prosecutions and even doling out grants to animal welfare groups, according to a new memo sent to all staff.
As part of the plan, Bondi said the government would create a law enforcement “tiger team” to assist with the execution of search warrants and seizures.
She also called for the creation of a strategy committee, which will oversee the creation of an animal welfare prosecution manual and implement a national strategy to combat “animal welfare crimes.”
Her memo also requires the Office of Justice Programs to fund grants for animal welfare groups and local law enforcement.
That plan comes at a time when that same grant-making office is struggling with unprecedented delays in soliciting and awarding awards that are traditionally given to local police, juvenile justice programs and victims of human trafficking and other violence.
Last year, the department abruptly terminated some 350 grants that paid for everything from community-based crime prevention programs with local law enforcement, to services for victims of crime and sexual violence, and assistance for mental health and substance abuse.
“Animals are part of our families: we will always fight to protect the pets we love,” said Bondi, who owns two rescue dogs that have sometimes been spotted being walked around the Justice Department by employees.
“I have fought against animal abuse my entire career and will never stop working to prosecute the sick individuals who prey upon innocent animals,” she added in a statement.
The announcement by Bondi comes several months after the Justice Department helped spearhead a roundtable with officials from the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health and Human Services and Lara Trump, who sits on the board of a nonprofit called Big Dog Ranch Rescue, according to a document seen by CBS News.
At that meeting, they brainstormed many of the ideas laid out in Bondi’s memo on Wednesday, including the creation of a “tiger team.”
Several other agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, also earlier on Wednesday announced efforts they would be taking to advance the initiative.
The enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act is largely carried out by the Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), which sends employees to a variety of businesses, from dog breeders to zoos, to inspect them for compliance with the law.
Most of the cases are handled administratively.
Criminal animal welfare cases are typically handled by the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division or by U.S. Attorney’s offices.
In the last few years, the bulk of the criminal cases involved animal fighting.
In one case that stood out from most, the Justice Department during the Biden administration prosecuted animal research breeder Envigo over both animal welfare and environmental crimes after investigators discovered the mistreatment of thousands of beagles at one of its locations.
In 2024, Envigo agreed to pay $22 million in fines — $11 million of which represented the largest-ever Justice Department fine in an animal welfare case — plus $13.5 million more to support animal welfare and environmental projects, cover law enforcement expenses and improve its own facilities.
Envigo in 2022 forfeited about 4,000 beagles, some of which were adopted by celebrities including Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
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