If you suspect animal cruelty, neglect, or hoarding, please call Riverside County Animal Services at (951) 358-7387. We accept anonymous reports. Once you submit a complaint, an officer will be dispatched to investigate. Complaints are addressed in order of urgency.
Be prepared to provide specific details about what you observed, dates, and timeframes. For example, “This dog has been tied up outside since 9 am this morning without food or water and it is now 8 pm.”
In serious cases, animals may be immediately confiscated from their property. In other cases, officers may provide a citation and give the owner a chance to correct the situation.
Common signs of animal cruelty or neglect
- No food or water
- Animals in heat distress or locked in hot cars
- Too many animals on one property with animals looking sick or underweight
- Animals that appear to be emaciated or starving
- Animals left on a property without receiving daily care
- Witnessing an animal being physically harmed by a person
- Animals with untreated wounds
- Large quantities of roosters being kept on a property
- Animals being kept in cages, corrals, or pens that are too smallCruelty Cases
Animal Services responds to complaints and conducts investigations on possible animal cruelty and provides educational information about proper care for animals. If the cruelty complaint is founded, a thorough investigation is conducted, including, but not limited to, the removal of animals and prosecution under the full extent of the law.