How To Report Online Animal Abuse
from animalalerts.org
If you see websites depicting animal abuse, it must be reported immediately. Please don’t contact the website owners; contact the authorities with the appropriate links and relevant material.
Please review and keep the following information:
WEBSITES FOR REPORTING:
US-based crimes (complaint can originate from any country, though):
http://www.ic3.gov/
http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/reporting.htm
Internationally-based crimes (can include US depending on your residence):
https://tips.fbi.gov/
http://www.interpol.int/public/mail/mail3.asp?id=info
Additional website reporting information:
http://www.pet-abuse.com/pages/animal_cruelty/reporting_abuse/cruel_websites.php
Additional crush video reporting/background information:
http://www.pet-abuse.com/pages/animal_cruelty/crush_videos.php
TO GET WEBSITE DISABLED (as taken from below and only as LAST CASE SCENARIO! Disabling the website can potentially cause loss of illegal documentation):
Because abusive content often violates the user agreement that the creator of the website has signed with the Internet Service Provider (ISP), notifying the ISP about the abusive content may result in the website being removed from the Internet.
To make a report to the ISP, you need to determine who hosts the website.
1. To do that, go to http://www.domaintools.com/, enter the website URL in the “Whois Lookup” search box and click on the search button.
2. Scroll down the results page until you find the numerical Internet Protocol (IP) address assigned to the website.
3. Then go to http://www.arin.net/ (American Registry for Internet Numbers) and enter that IP address in the “Search WHOIS” box and click on the search button.
4. The search results page will provide information about the ISP that hosts the website. The page also might display information about how to report abuse.
5. If it does not, go to www.search.org/programs/hightech/isp and find the complete contact information for the ISP on the list. All of this information should also be included in your FBI complaint form, where possible.
If you believe an animal is in immediate harm, and if the location is known, contact local police and your local FBI branch office as soon as possible. To locate your local FBI branch, visit http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm.
You can also visit PETA’s site and follow the steps provided there to complain about a website (the result will be the same as above but via different route):
http://www.peta.org/actioncenter/onlinecruelty.asp
SAMPLE INTRODUCTORY LETTER TO REPORT INTERNET SITE:
RE: (C/P Internet site address in this space)
ISP: (C/P address)
To Whom It May Concern,
I have been notified of the above website that depicts violent acts of animal cruelty. These images are extremely disturbing and clearly establish blatant and vicious crimes against animals; once you view the provided material, you will understand this is indicative of unlawful acts of animal cruelty as established by the Animal Welfare Act and relevant local and international statutes. I respectfully request that your resources be applied to remove this material and/or disbanding the website.
Thank you for your time and attention.
