California prides itself on leading the nation in animal welfare laws. But right now, no single state agency is responsible for licensing or inspecting the people running animal shelters and rescues — and animals are paying the price.

In Humboldt County, investigators recently uncovered the remains of hundreds of dogs at a rescue that called itself "no-kill." In San Diego County, another so-called sanctuary was shut down after hundreds of animals were found living in neglect. Both organizations operated for years with no state body checking on how they treated the animals in their care.

"We are imploring the state to put us under someone's jurisdiction, someone's eyes," said Gary Weitzman, president of the San Diego Humane Society, according to ABC7 News.

Bruce Wagman, a Bay Area animal law attorney, put it plainly: "I think part of it is everybody figured it was done and so they haven't been doing it," he told ABC7 News. Right now, shelters, rescues, breeders, and groomers each answer to a different, disconnected set of rules — and none of them require routine licensing or inspection.

Governor Gavin Newsom and the California State Legislature can fix this by creating a dedicated state bureau to license and inspect every shelter and rescue in California, and by fully supporting Assemblymember Alex Lee's Assembly Bill 631, which would standardize how shelters track and report the animals in their care.

Animals cannot report their own abuse or neglect. They depend on the people responsible for them — and on a state willing to check that care is actually happening. Sign the petition to demand California create a licensing and inspection bureau for animal shelters and rescues, before more animals are lost to neglect nobody was watching for.