Animal Advocates of Pearl River County, a group that formed last month, has teamed up with the help of the Humane Society of the United States and the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department.

The AAPRC will be attending class on Thursday, which will concentrate on animal cruelty and how to best advocate for them, said Lydia Sattler, Mississippi Director, State affairs HSUS.

The course will educate AAPRC on state laws and the best ways to advocate for animals.

A separate class for law enforcement will be held July 22, and will count towards an officer’s continuing education hours.

Sheriff David Allison said he was happy to oblige the AAPRC’s request.

“The group is concerned that some animals in the county are not being properly cared for,” Allison said. “We are thankful that the Humane Society is willing to come to our county and provide the free training. We are looking forward to the classes and I’m sure it will benefit us greatly as we assist our citizens with animal calls.”

Course topics will cover  dogfighting, cockfighting and other cruelty investigations.

The dogfighting portion will cover types of dogfighters, forms of profit, the basic terminology used, documenting a crime scene and resources, among many other topics.

The cockfighting portions will cover basic terminology, forms of profit, forms of confinement and conditioning methods used, to name a few.

The cruelty investigations portion will cover the differences between misdemeanor and felony acts of animal cruelty, state laws, responding to complaints, interviewing, evidence collection and case preparation, among other topics.

AAPRC President Bobbie Shute said the group is excited Sattler is conducting the training.

“We want to be sure we are providing the right kind of help staying within the guidelines of the law,” Shute said. “This training is critical in giving us the right tools to move forward and become an effective force in our county to educate and help our citizens prevent and reduce animal cruelty.

“The humane treatment of animals improves everyone’s quality of life. If there are other citizens out there that would like to join us they can contact myself, Bobbie Shute, at 601-463-0174 or our Vice President Martha Ford at 601-590-2988.”

Sattler said she is extremely excited to be a part of this new initiative in Pearl River County and that she is very impressed with everyone involved.