Experts say animal abuse is on the rise, despite increased awareness and enforcement.

Now they want to shine a light on an especially cruel and intentional form of abuse, using re-homed pets found on social media as bait animals. Experts say there are ways you can help stop this trend.

What You Need To Know

  • Bait animals are used to train dogs for dog fighting

  • Most are found for free from social media posts

  • The Onondaga County Sheriff's Office has an abused animal registry for those convicted of animal abuse

  • If you need to re-home an animal, you're asked not to post it for free and utilize resources like the animal abuse registry or the CNY SPCA

Dee Schaefer is the CNY SPCA humane educator. She introduces Arya, a happy and hyper dog living at the SPCA. Arya is a good dog that is lucky to be alive. She was abused as a bait animal and is now a warning to re-home animals carefully.

“She was bloody. This ear was completely ripped to shreds. It looked like hamburger. Her upper jaw was broken in two places. And see, she’s got old wounds all over her head she has wounds on her chest,” Schaefer says. “Bait animals are used by dog fighters to get the blood running, basically for a dog fight. And they are thrown into the ring. A lot of the dogs, their teeth are filed down and their nails are pulled out so that they have no defense.”

This kind of animal cruelty is a harsh reality. In 2017, the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office established an animal abuser registry.

“Sadly they’re just too many people in our community that abuse animals. Not just dogs, but all animals,” Onondaga County Eugene Sheriff Conway says.

If you are looking for a pet or you need to re-home your animal, the Sheriff urges you to use this tool.

“Anybody who maybe selling or giving away an animal should be checking this registry to make that this animal isn’t going into the wrong hands,” Sheriff Conway says.

Animal experts warn that one of the worst things you can do is to post your animal for free on social media.

“If you really do need to re-home your animal and you can’t get it into a shelter, charge for that animal. Because if they’re looking for a bait animal, they’re not going to pay for that. They want something that is free,” Schaefer says.

Be thorough when choosing who to re-home your pet to. Some abusers use decoy people to secure pets as their new bait animal.

“We found out through investigations that usually these people surface, even though they may be using someone else to maybe receive the animal,” Sheriff Conway says.

Law enforcement says protecting our animals protects the community at large.

“Studies have found that this is part of a progression. People that abuse animals will wind up abusing humans… Children, adults,” Sheriff Conway warns.

“It is more common than you think. It really is,” adds Shaefer.

“It deals again with those who can’t speak for themselves. And obviously, that’s the animals that we all love,” Sheriff Conway says.

Despite her tragic backstory, there is a happy ending for Arya. After months of healing and socializing at the SPCA, she has been adopted.

To connect to the Onondaga County Animal Abuser Registry, visit the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office website. If you need help re-homing an animal, the CNY SPCA can help.