Defensa Animal de Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico Law 154 — the Animal Welfare and Protection Act — protects animals from abandonment, neglect, and abuse.

If you believe an animal is suffering or in danger, please speak up. Your report may be the first step toward getting that animal help.

You can begin by contacting the Puerto Rico Police or the police station serving the municipality where the animal is located.

Puerto Rico Police main switchboard: 787-793-1234
Emergencies or immediate danger: 911
Puerto Rico Police Confidential Tip Line: 787-343-2020
OICA – Animal Cruelty Investigators: 787-731-7183

You can also contact the police station in your area and ask for the officer or coordinator who handles cases involving Law 154.

If you are concerned about identifying yourself, ask the officer what options may be available to protect your identity. Please do not let fear of being identified stop you from reporting an animal that may be suffering.

The Police may ask you or a witness to visit the station to provide a statement or additional information. Ask the officer what steps are needed to make a formal complaint and how to follow up.

Before You Finish Your Report

If possible, try to obtain:

• The complaint or police case number
• The officer’s name
• The officer’s badge number
• Contact information for the police station or officer

Having the complaint number can make it much easier to confirm that the situation was reported and to follow up afterward.

If you encounter resistance or an officer does not want to take the complaint, you may respectfully ask to speak with a supervisor.

If you have reported suspected animal abuse or neglect to the police and feel that not enough is being done, you can also contact the district prosecutor’s office (Fiscalía) serving the municipality where the incident occurred. Explain your concerns and ask for guidance on having the matter reviewed.

Provide your police complaint number, if available, along with the location, dates, photos, videos, witness information, and a record of your follow-up with the police. Calling ahead can help you confirm where and how to submit this information.

Please keep trying. You may be the person who makes the difference for that animal.

The Police can investigate the circumstances, attempt to identify the animal’s owner or custodian, and determine whether there may be abandonment, neglect, abuse, or another violation of Law 154.

Other Ways You Can Help

After contacting the Police, you or another concerned person may also:

• Notify the municipality or mayor’s office where the animal is located and ask what resources may be available.

• Request municipal or emergency assistance when an animal is in immediate danger.

• Post truthful information on Facebook or other community pages asking for help. If it is safe and appropriate, include the complaint number. Share photographs, the general location, and only facts you personally observed. Avoid making accusations that you cannot verify. Social media can also bring concerned people together to politely and persistently follow up with the same police station or municipal office. Referencing the same complaint number and accurate details helps keep everyone focused on the same case. Ask for updates and appropriate action, while keeping emergency lines available for emergencies.

Never enter private property, remove an animal, or confront its owner or custodian without legal authorization.

Document What You See

Photos, videos, dates, times, and locations can be extremely helpful.

Take photographs or videos only from a place where you have a legal right to be, and write down what you personally observed.

Even small details may help authorities or an organization that later becomes involved understand what is happening and what the animal may need.

If the Animal Is a Horse

Defensa Animal de Puerto Rico works specifically with horses.

If the animal needing assistance is a horse, please first follow the reporting steps above.

Once the situation has been reported, we will do what we can to help the horse if contacted for assistance by the Police, other appropriate authorities, or the horse’s owner or custodian.

Depending on the circumstances, this may include helping assess the horse’s immediate needs, coordinating care, assisting with transportation when legally authorized, or helping determine what resources may be available.

Most horses in Puerto Rico have an identifiable owner or custodian. The Police, the municipality, and members of the community who work with horses may also be able to help identify or locate the responsible person when their identity is unknown.

A private individual or rescue organization should not enter private property or remove or transport a horse without the owner’s consent or appropriate legal authorization.

As a nonprofit organization registered with the IRS and Puerto Rico Department of Treasury, Defensa Animal de Puerto Rico must work within the legal process while doing everything reasonably possible to help horses in need.

While waiting for authorities to arrive or assistance to be coordinated, and only when it is safe and legal to do so, a horse may be offered clean water and, when appropriate, grass or hay.

Please continue documenting what you observe. Photos, videos, dates, times, and locations can be very helpful when we are asked to assist.

For assistance with animals other than horses, please visit our Veterinarians and Other Rescue Groups page for additional resources.