The 2026 Animal ForensiCon in Orlando, Florida

Jamie McManus, civil litigation attorney and former prosecutor, shares with us the importance of private citizens in the reporting of suspected animal abuse and neglect. While they play an important role in recognition and reporting, they can also jeopardize the case and even themselves if they take the law into their own hands.

Dr. G:

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All right.

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Here we are with Jamie McManus, and

she just got done speaking about the

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role of citizens in animal cruelty.

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Thank you for being here.

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And how about you start by letting our

audience know what it is that you do.

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Jamie McManus: Uh, well, currently I am

an attorney in a civil litigation firm.

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We represent a lot of counties and other

sovereign entities when they've been sued

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and there's an insurance defense issue.

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But in my prior life, I was a prosecutor.

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Um, in fact, I was a prosecutor

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So I guess the short answer is

I'm an attorney, but I'm also

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an advocate for the animals.

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Dr. G:

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I really enjoyed your lecture because

we see a lot of people, you know, like

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you mentioned, that citizens are usually

the first one to come up and say about

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a crime being committed against animals.

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Mm-hmm.

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But these cases are so emotional that

people jump into things, and they

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don't think about it, either because

they don't wanna wait or because

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they don't know what they should do.

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So what are the common

mistakes that citizens make

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when they see animal cruelty?

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Jamie McManus: Well, I think operating

from a position of emotion is...

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It's difficult to divorce yourself from

the emotions when you see an animal being

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mistreated, I completely understand.

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But if you fast-forward to what you want

the end result to be, which is an animal

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who is rescued and also an abuser or

offender who receives justice, then you

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realize that you need to be a neutral

observer and document just the facts.

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Let law enforcement and

animal services do their jobs.

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And at all times, remember,

to keep your own self safe.

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So in other words, you know, if you see

an animal, you drive past this house every

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day on your way to work, and you see an

animal who's getting thinner and thinner

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and thinner, and the chain never seems to

move, it just seems to get bigger around

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the animal's neck because he's getting

so thin, there is a very real part and a,

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a very human part of you that would want

to jump over that fence and take the dog.

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Some would even argue that is

the morally right thing to do.

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But we can't.

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We don't live in that kind of world.

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And so that's really what my talk

today was about, was as a citizen, you

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are on the front lines of reporting

animal cruelty and helping animals.

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But when it comes to getting justice and

getting animals the help they need- It's

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important to be, uh, measured and careful.

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Dr. G:

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From us on the animal cruelty

investigation side, we worry about how

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that damages the evidence or how a case

may be thrown out, but there can be severe

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penalties for the individual that gets

involved if they do things wrong, right?

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Jamie McManus: There could be.

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So jumping over the fence in the

last example, that's trespass, right?

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Taking the animal, that's theft.

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Um, in the state of Florida, there's

a way to read our burglary statute

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that that could be burglary, right?

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You entered onto the premises of, uh, or

the dwelling, which includes the curtilage

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of someone else's property without

consent with the intent to do a crime.

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Here was theft.

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And in Florida, if you were convicted

of burglary, the criminal punishment

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code says that's a minimum of 24 months

in the Department of Corrections.

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So you really want to be careful

about the steps you're taking.

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We definitely want animals rescued.

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We want them in thriving and

healthy environments, but we also

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want people to be aware of the the

sanctions they can, um, en- encounter.

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But not only that, I mean, and

probably, you know, more important

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is if a person is willing to abuse

an animal, what will they do to you?

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There- we might feel like if I just

talk to this person, if I yell at

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them because that's what I'm feeling

right now, it'll make me feel better.

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Maybe they'll give me the animal.

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But I really discourage people

from confronting abusers.

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Dr. G:

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In the process of reporting, the proper

thing, obviously, authorities go to

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animal control and that kind of stuff.

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But the, you know, in, in this day

and age with social media, too many

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people go to Facebook, Instagram,

and I personally have seen cases

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that have been destroyed because,

you know, somebody posted a backyard

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that looked like a dog-fighting yard.

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Mm-hmm.

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So by the time that the Humane

Society was able to come in, they

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had taken care of some of it, right?

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Right.

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And they didn't have the time to prepare.

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Right.

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So, what are your recommendations

for people as far as what

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to do and what not to do?

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Jamie McManus: Uh, the number one

thing, and I've, I've seen examples

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of what you just described, stay off

of social media where it concerns, uh,

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anything that you personally know about.

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Number one, it, the social media posts

that you make could put you in danger with

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the, the offenders, but also it could make

you appear less credible as a witness.

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A defense attorney with evidence as

damning as the type of evi- evidence

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you see in, in cruelty cases is going

to be looking for any opportunity to,

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to try to poke holes in that evidence,

and one way that you do that is to

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question the credibility of the witness.

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Does the witness have some bias?

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"They just hate this guy".

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"They've been after this guy".

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Look at the social media posts,

look how vile they are when

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they describe my client".

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You...

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Stay off of social media.

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Um, and, and, you know, to your point,

you're giving the defendant a heads-up.

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You don't wanna do it.

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It's bad enough that crimes

against animals are so secretive.

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They happen behind closed

doors for the most part.

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You know, advertising of animal

fighting, it's, it's, it's so secretive.

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Like, everything is

below the radar already.

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People who hurt animals know to

keep their crimes covered up.

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Don't give them a heads-up.

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Dr. G:

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Obviously see something, say something.

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Jamie McManus: Yes.

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Dr. G:

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Just say it to the right

person the right way.

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Jamie McManus: Yes.

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Yes.

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Dr. G:

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Excellent.

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Uh, well, thank you so much for

being here, and thank you for

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everything that you do for animals.

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Jamie McManus: Yes, thank you.

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It's nice to be here.

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Nice to talk to you.