Animal Welfare Professionals

Good morning, friends.  I hope that it is OK that this question is directed specifically to NYS rescue groups only.   Orange Street Cats is an all-volunteer, foster home based cat rescue in NYS.  We are doing our best to be prepared for the new Companion Animal Standards Act when it comes into effect on December 15, 2025.  One part of the new law requires all volunteers to be trained on a number of specific topics, which is this basis of this particular question (although we have many other questions as well!)  Included in the list of specific topics is "animal cruelty" with no further description of what should be covered.     As a rescue, we do not investigate cruelty, we do not respond to situations of cruelty, and we are not responsible for housing animals in a legal case.  I've searched all the usual suspects, like ASPCAPro, HSUS, Maddie's, etc., and resorted to a plain, old Google search and I'm coming up empty as to what exactly a rescue organization's volunteers should be trained on involving animal cruelty.  There are plenty of resources that make sense for shelter staff, but not rescue volunteers.  For all you other NYS rescues out there who are also struggling to reach compliance with this new law by December, what are you including in this training section?  Or, even if you haven't found exactly what you are looking for, what is your approach to this topic?  Thanks for any thoughts you have!  And for any rescues out there struggling also, on this or any section of the new law, we'd love to connect!

This is one of the many areas we had questions about too! Our shelter has reached out to set up a consultation with the group that created the new standards: https://nysapfedfund.org/shelter-standards-consulting-services/ We are hoping we will be able to get more specific info through that process.

Good morning, friends.  I hope that it is OK that this question is directed specifically to NYS rescue groups only.   Orange Street Cats is an all-volunteer, foster home based cat rescue in NYS.  We are doing our best to be prepared for the new Companion Animal Standards Act when it comes into effect on December 15, 2025.  One part of the new law requires all volunteers to be trained on a number of specific topics, which is this basis of this particular question (although we have many other questions as well!)  Included in the list of specific topics is "animal cruelty" with no further description of what should be covered.     As a rescue, we do not investigate cruelty, we do not respond to situations of cruelty, and we are not responsible for housing animals in a legal case.  I've searched all the usual suspects, like ASPCAPro, HSUS, Maddie's, etc., and resorted to a plain, old Google search and I'm coming up empty as to what exactly a rescue organization's volunteers should be trained on involving animal cruelty.  There are plenty of resources that make sense for shelter staff, but not rescue volunteers.  For all you other NYS rescues out there who are also struggling to reach compliance with this new law by December, what are you including in this training section?  Or, even if you haven't found exactly what you are looking for, what is your approach to this topic?  Thanks for any thoughts you have!  And for any rescues out there struggling also, on this or any section of the new law, we'd love to connect!

Thanks for responding.  We are in contact with them. However the law and NYSAPF are both pretty shelter-centric.  As a rescue without a physical location we limitations

This is one of the many areas we had questions about too! Our shelter has reached out to set up a consultation with the group that created the new standards: https://nysapfedfund.org/shelter-standards-consulting-services/ We are hoping we will be able to get more specific info through that process.

Good morning, friends.  I hope that it is OK that this question is directed specifically to NYS rescue groups only.   Orange Street Cats is an all-volunteer, foster home based cat rescue in NYS.  We are doing our best to be prepared for the new Companion Animal Standards Act when it comes into effect on December 15, 2025.  One part of the new law requires all volunteers to be trained on a number of specific topics, which is this basis of this particular question (although we have many other questions as well!)  Included in the list of specific topics is "animal cruelty" with no further description of what should be covered.     As a rescue, we do not investigate cruelty, we do not respond to situations of cruelty, and we are not responsible for housing animals in a legal case.  I've searched all the usual suspects, like ASPCAPro, HSUS, Maddie's, etc., and resorted to a plain, old Google search and I'm coming up empty as to what exactly a rescue organization's volunteers should be trained on involving animal cruelty.  There are plenty of resources that make sense for shelter staff, but not rescue volunteers.  For all you other NYS rescues out there who are also struggling to reach compliance with this new law by December, what are you including in this training section?  Or, even if you haven't found exactly what you are looking for, what is your approach to this topic?  Thanks for any thoughts you have!  And for any rescues out there struggling also, on this or any section of the new law, we'd love to connect!

Hi, Diane:

We at Maddie's Fund have also been in touch with the NYSAPF, and are working on a course to fulfill the animal cruelty requirement which will be available before the end of the year. It will still be directed at shelters, but it will focus on balancing the need for resources that come up in neglect situations with outright cruelty cases and recognizing the difference, so it may be more relevant to your situation. I will keep foster-based organizations in mind as we develop this course. 

By the way, Maddie's Fund does offer a free service of putting all courses into a portal at one Maddie's University URL where you can see who enrolls and completes courses. You can also create tabs to link out to external training, so you have it all in one place. We have been doing this for some NYS orgs in the lead up to the requirements. You can read more about that service here: https://www.maddiesfund.org/professional-development-portals.htm

Thanks for all you do for cats and kittens!

Erika

Thanks for responding.  We are in contact with them. However the law and NYSAPF are both pretty shelter-centric.  As a rescue without a physical location we limitations

This is one of the many areas we had questions about too! Our shelter has reached out to set up a consultation with the group that created the new standards: https://nysapfedfund.org/shelter-standards-consulting-services/ We are hoping we will be able to get more specific info through that process.

Good morning, friends.  I hope that it is OK that this question is directed specifically to NYS rescue groups only.   Orange Street Cats is an all-volunteer, foster home based cat rescue in NYS.  We are doing our best to be prepared for the new Companion Animal Standards Act when it comes into effect on December 15, 2025.  One part of the new law requires all volunteers to be trained on a number of specific topics, which is this basis of this particular question (although we have many other questions as well!)  Included in the list of specific topics is "animal cruelty" with no further description of what should be covered.     As a rescue, we do not investigate cruelty, we do not respond to situations of cruelty, and we are not responsible for housing animals in a legal case.  I've searched all the usual suspects, like ASPCAPro, HSUS, Maddie's, etc., and resorted to a plain, old Google search and I'm coming up empty as to what exactly a rescue organization's volunteers should be trained on involving animal cruelty.  There are plenty of resources that make sense for shelter staff, but not rescue volunteers.  For all you other NYS rescues out there who are also struggling to reach compliance with this new law by December, what are you including in this training section?  Or, even if you haven't found exactly what you are looking for, what is your approach to this topic?  Thanks for any thoughts you have!  And for any rescues out there struggling also, on this or any section of the new law, we'd love to connect!

Erika,

We have had you do this for our shelter (SPCA Serving Erie County, NY) and it has been a great way to easily see who has taken the courses and also to not have to look all over for which ones we need to fulfill the NYS requirements.  What a great time-saver and convenience it has been!

Hi, Diane:

We at Maddie's Fund have also been in touch with the NYSAPF, and are working on a course to fulfill the animal cruelty requirement which will be available before the end of the year. It will still be directed at shelters, but it will focus on balancing the need for resources that come up in neglect situations with outright cruelty cases and recognizing the difference, so it may be more relevant to your situation. I will keep foster-based organizations in mind as we develop this course. 

By the way, Maddie's Fund does offer a free service of putting all courses into a portal at one Maddie's University URL where you can see who enrolls and completes courses. You can also create tabs to link out to external training, so you have it all in one place. We have been doing this for some NYS orgs in the lead up to the requirements. You can read more about that service here: https://www.maddiesfund.org/professional-development-portals.htm

Thanks for all you do for cats and kittens!

Erika

Thanks for responding.  We are in contact with them. However the law and NYSAPF are both pretty shelter-centric.  As a rescue without a physical location we limitations

This is one of the many areas we had questions about too! Our shelter has reached out to set up a consultation with the group that created the new standards: https://nysapfedfund.org/shelter-standards-consulting-services/ We are hoping we will be able to get more specific info through that process.

Good morning, friends.  I hope that it is OK that this question is directed specifically to NYS rescue groups only.   Orange Street Cats is an all-volunteer, foster home based cat rescue in NYS.  We are doing our best to be prepared for the new Companion Animal Standards Act when it comes into effect on December 15, 2025.  One part of the new law requires all volunteers to be trained on a number of specific topics, which is this basis of this particular question (although we have many other questions as well!)  Included in the list of specific topics is "animal cruelty" with no further description of what should be covered.     As a rescue, we do not investigate cruelty, we do not respond to situations of cruelty, and we are not responsible for housing animals in a legal case.  I've searched all the usual suspects, like ASPCAPro, HSUS, Maddie's, etc., and resorted to a plain, old Google search and I'm coming up empty as to what exactly a rescue organization's volunteers should be trained on involving animal cruelty.  There are plenty of resources that make sense for shelter staff, but not rescue volunteers.  For all you other NYS rescues out there who are also struggling to reach compliance with this new law by December, what are you including in this training section?  Or, even if you haven't found exactly what you are looking for, what is your approach to this topic?  Thanks for any thoughts you have!  And for any rescues out there struggling also, on this or any section of the new law, we'd love to connect!