Innocent animals are being tortured, mutilated, and brutally beaten to death - sometimes just days after being adopted or lured from their homes. California shelters, rescue groups, and families are unknowingly handing over animals to repeat abusers because there’s no system in place to warn them.

Take the case of Alejandro Acosta. For years, cats were disappearing and turning up dead in Santa Ana— brutally beaten with bloody faces, broken backs and tails, some even hung to die in trees in the neighborhood. The community was heartbroken and terrified. It took years of vigilance, home security footage, and testimony to finally connect the dots and identify him as the person behind these brutal acts. 

We exposed him for the monster he was, and the public was outraged. 

Once his face and actions were known, he could no longer commit those disgusting acts of violence without the entire community watching his every move. The silence was broken—and he lost the power of hiding in it.

For a moment, it felt like we had finally succeeded. It felt like there was going to be justice.The community exposed him. We were loud. We were united. And for the first time, he couldn’t harm in silence.

Then, he disappeared. Just up and left in the middle of the night, forfeiting his bail money and skipping his court date. He’s gone.

And that’s the most heartbreaking part—he’s somewhere else now, doing the same evil things in a new city, to new animals, with no one around him knowing what he’s capable of.

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This isn’t a one time case. There are others.

Steven Ullery strangled and kicked multiple shelter cats to death in Long Beach. Then he tried returning their lifeless bodies to the shelters to ask for refunds—claiming they were “defective.” He did this over and over again, moving from one shelter to the next, killing five cats in total before finally being arrested. He served time—but there was nothing stopping him from getting animals in the first place.

Joshua Boyer, in Oceanside, lured cats from Craigslist, shelters, and even neighborhood porches—then brutally tortured and dismembered them. He killed at least ten. He posed as a military veteran to gain people’s trust. Police only found out after someone tracked their missing pet’s GPS collar to his property—where officers found tools, remains, and videos. He got 8 years in prison.

Charles Beyers was caught abusing over 40 animals in Nevada County—including dogs and cats kept in tiny cages without food, ventilation, or water. Two days after the animals were seized and he was cited, officers found he’d gotten two more dogs and was already abusing them again. He was arrested—again. Nothing was in place to stop him from getting more animals.

These are not isolated incidents. These are violent repeat offenders who should never be allowed near animals again. And yet, without a public registry or any system of cross-communication between cities and shelters, these abusers can simply move, change names, and start over.

Right now, anyone convicted—or even charged—of brutal animal abuse in California can move cities, change names, and walk into another shelter or rescue without consequence. They can adopt. They can foster. They can continue abducting family pets right from their front yards. They can repeat the cycle.

If nothing changes, more animals will die preventable deaths. More families will unknowingly place pets into the hands of people who’ve already proven what they’re capable of. And the public will remain in the dark—while abusers disappear into the system, untracked and unrestricted.

But if we act now, we can change that. A California Animal Abuser Registry would create a public list of individuals convicted or charged with violent animal cruelty. It would warn shelters, rescues, and communities when a known abuser moves nearby. It would restrict adoption and foster access, and provide transparency and accountability in cases where it matters most.

Because every minute we wait, another animal is at risk.

We have a Megan’s Law to protect children. We have registries for sex offenders. Why don’t we have one to protect our animals—especially when animal abuse is proven to be a warning sign of domestic violence, child abuse, and even school shootings?

The FBI classifies animal cruelty as a violent felony for a reason. It’s not just about animals—it’s about public safety, compassion, and the kind of society we want to live in.

We can’t allow this silence to continue. Sign this petition and demand that California create a public Animal Abuser Registry—before another pet ends up tortured, discarded, or dead.

Be their voice. Sign. Share. Demand change.

This petition is for the animals in those neighborhoods. The ones who won’t ever come home.