Georgia Animal Rights and Protection

Investigators say evidence showed Monroe County animal control officer Carlos Santillan put four live puppies into the incinerator.

"Obviously, people can get away with a lot of things up until they don't, and this was a case where he felt comfortable doing it. It looked to me like there was no second thought — he just walked back there and did what he did, which was bad," Monroe County Sheriff Brad Freeman said.

The case will now be turned over to the district attorney's office, where it will go before a grand jury. If indicted, prosecutors will handle the case from there. Please contact the Monroe County District Attorney and the Chief Assistant District Attorney and urge that they prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law.

District Attorney Dorothy V. Hull [email protected]

Chief Assistant District Attorney [email protected]

DA’s office phone: 478-994-7652

'Horrific': Georgia animal control officer arrested, accused of burning 4 dogs alive A Georgia animal control officer was arrested on suspicion that he burned four live puppies inside an incinerator.

An 18-year-old tourist visiting New York City with his family was killed when a Central Park carriage horse bolted and took off in the park on Wednesday afternoon, throwing him from the carriage. This has happened just one week after a carriage horse dropped dead in Central Park.

This is what happens when you sit on your hands and do nothing.
Horses have died and now a young man’s parents will never see him again. This was 100% preventable.

Ryder's Law was supposed to get a vote in December. It didn't. Now, after yet another preventable tragedy, we're joining NYCLASS in calling for an emergency stoppage of horse-drawn carriage operations immediately, until Ryder’s Law is passed.

Speaker Julie Menin, Lynn Schulman, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: pass Ryder’s Law NOW!

Please watch to learn about the proposed ban on tethering dogs in DeKalb County, as well as the effects and risks of tethering.

Most of the expert testimony occurs near the beginning of the meeting, followed by committee discussion. This portion of the meeting runs from approximately 12 to 60 minutes.

This is the DeKalb County Employee Relations and Public Safety (ERPS) Committee Meeting from June 2, 2026. At the conclusion of the meeting, a motion was made to defer the item for two weeks.

DeKalb County Employee Relations and Public Safety (ERPS) Committee Meeting - June 2, 2026 Aired live on DCTV (DeKalb County Television), Channel 23, this vid...

A Georgia Department of Agriculture inspection report obtained by Atlanta News First revealed the state issued Clayton County Animal Control a violation for not following state euthanasia protocols by using the state’s least recommended way to put animals down in the majority of cases. They then removed the violation the same day.

Drug logs provided by Clayton County Animal Control in previous records requests revealed the shelter’s staff veterinarian used the HEART STICK AS THE INITIAL METHOD OF EUTHANASIA NEARLY 90% from February 2025 to February 2026.

Rules and Regulations of the state of Georgia, along with Georgia animal protection law, require a lethal solution to be used in a specific order, starting with a vein. If a vet cannot access a vein, then they are to inject through the abdomen. The last option is through the heart, commonly referred to as the heart stick. GDA rules are clear: A HEART STICK CAN ONLY BE USED IF THE DOG OR CAT IS UNCONSCIOUS. The American Veterinary Medical Association guidelines for euthanasia state that an animal must be unconscious, not just sedated, so the animal can’t perceive pain.

Clayton County animal shelters are publicly funded, but the public isn’t allowed inside. Only staff and state prisoners on work duty are permitted to enter, and no volunteers are employed. The only way to see what’s happening to the animals is through open records requests and internal cameras.

Last year, a disturbing video footage accessed through an open records request showed workers at the Clayton County Animal Control shelter being extremely abusive to animals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1i43Jx1wXo

County commissioners control county budgets and can influence policies, staffing, oversight, and funding priorities affecting animal control operations.

Please contact the commissioners and urge them to take action to ensure that the shelter is a safe haven for animals—many of whom have already suffered cruel neglect, abuse, and abandonment—and that all personnel who are tasked with handling them are properly trained and competent.

Dr. Alieka Anderson-Henry
Chairwoman, Clayton County Commissioner
[email protected] Phone: (770) 477-3208

Alaina Reaves
Vice Chair District 1, Clayton County Board of Commissioners
[email protected] Phone: Phone: (770) 477-3213

Gail Hambrick
District 2 Commissioner, Clayton County Board of Commissioners
[email protected] Phone: Phone: (770) 603-4135

Tashe Allen
District 3 Commissioner, Clayton County Board of Commissioners
[email protected] Phone: (770) 473-5465

DeMont Davis
District 4 Commissioner, Clayton County Board of Commissioners
[email protected] Phone: (770) 473-5445

‘They don’t have a voice’ | Clayton County shelter euthanasia practices criticized The Georgia Department of Agriculture has not explained why a violation was removed the same day it was issued.

Please click the link below and ask your U.S. representative to co-sponsor the Federal Animal Research Accountability Act. It would require that all labs receiving funds from U.S. Public Health Service agencies annually complete a short form that includes the total number of animals bred, housed, and used in the previous year, sorted by species and level of pain and distress. NIH would then make those annual reports available to the public via an agency website. Our tax dollars pay for this wasteful atrocity; at least we should have transparency.

Ask Your Member of Congress to Co-Sponsor the Federal Animal Research Accountability Act! Can you believe the federal government doesn’t count the number of animals used in taxpayer-funded experiments?