Our website contains quite a bit of information on animal abuse cases, prevention, and the abuse connection, and graphical abuse statistics - feel free to take a look around. If you need statistics on the number of abuse cases, types of abuse, etc - you may use our abuse case database. For additinal comprehensive statistics, please see the 2001 Report put out by the HSUS.
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The abuse database is tied into a network of animal welfare and animal protection organizations across the country. Using a system called AARDAS, they are able to share information through one universal database. This allows the information to be combined to give us a better overall picture of animal abuse, as well as the age groups and geographical locations that need the most attention to prevent future crimes. You can find out more about what we're trying to accomplish with AARDAS by viewing our Goals page.
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There are currently 16 options for abuse type classification:
| Type | Description |
| Beastialty | Intercourse or other sexual activity with animal(s). |
| Beating | Includes punching, kicking, or beating animal with an object |
| Burning/ Fireworks | Fire or explosive-related abuse |
| Drowning | Any drowning or attempted drowning |
| Fighting | Illegal animal-fighting activity such as dog fighting or cock fighting |
| Hoarding* | Neglect where there are an excessive number of animals in one location. * This does not include puppy mills, which is classified as Neglect/Abandonment. |
| Mutilation/ Torture | Stabbing, dismemberment, skinning, etc. |
| Neglect/ Abandonment | This classification should also be used when crime involves puppy mills |
| Other | Crimes that do not fit any of the other types |
| Poisoning | Any type of poisoning |
| Shooting | Any type of shooting incident, including guns, air guns, pellet or bb guns, crossbows, arrows, etc. |
| Theft | Theft of an animal (larceny) |
| Throwing | Throwing animal against ground, walls, etc. This also includes throwing animal from vehicles. |
| Unclassified | A case type is unclassified when an unspecific case report comes through an official channel and there are insufficient details to determine abuse type. |
| Unlawful Trade/ Smuggling | Illegal smuggling, etc. This is usually reserved for exotic or endangered animals. * This does not include puppy mills. |
| Vehicular | Intentional harm where a vehicle was the weapon, for example intentionally running over a dog, or tying an animal to a vehicle to be dragged. * This does not include throwing animal from vehicles, which is classified as "Throwing". |
At this point in time, each case is only assigned one classification. In cases where several different types of abuse were involved, the type classifications are approached from a logical standpoint, using the most violent abuse classification that applies. For example, if an animal was mutilated and set on fire, the classification will generally be "Mutilation/Torture".
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There are currently 5 options for case status:
| Status | Description |
| Alleged | Associated abusers are under investigation or are already in the system, awaiting trial or sentencing.
A case which is classified as Alleged should ALWAYS have at least one abuser name listed with it. |
| Open | Authorities do not have any suspects in custody or pending charges for the crime. |
| Convicted | A guilty verdict was decided. |
| Not Charged | After investigation, the suspect was never charged. |
| Failed to Appear | Alleged abuser failed to appear for their court date. This usually means there is a warrent out for their arrest. |
| Dismissed | Charges were dropped |
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We are actively working on expanding this to include additional countries. If you have information on abuse crimes in other countries, please send it to [email protected]. We are not intentionally neglecting other countries, however since we are based out of the US, we have access to more information about North American cases. As our network continues to grow, we will be able to expand accordingly.
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AARDAS is the acronym for the Animal Abuse Registry Database Administration System. Simply put, it is a software project developed by Pet-Abuse.Com in the hopes of increasing resources for animal abuse investigation - it is the software and database back-end that powers the Abuse Database. By connecting the people who are actually investigating and pursuing these cases, we hope to have a more accurate overview of the actual number of abuse cases, with usable information on their abusers. The database behind AARDAS is currently the largest online database of abuse cases in existence, and as we continue to evaluate potential participants, it will only continue to grow.
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The AARDAS project's authorized Administrators are carefully reviewed and selected based on several criteria. If you are involved with an animal welfare or animal protection organization, specifically one that investigates animal abuse crimes, please send an e-mail to [email protected]. Your e-mail should state your name, the nature of your organization, your experience with humane law enforcement or investigation, as well as a short summary of why you would like to get involved with the AARDAS project. All applications are reviewed thoroughly, and we try to respond as quickly as possible.
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Please see the Case Submission Guidelines, which explains each of pieces of information we need before considering a case for submission.
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If a case is legitimate, we will add it no matter how far back it goes. Our oldest case to date is from 1940, however the majority of cases are from 2001-2003.
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