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Experts On the Ground

October 15, 2007

©The HSUS/Kathy Milani

The HSUS's Eric Sakach inspects birds at a cockfighting operation raided Oct. 13 in San Diego, Calif.

Eric Sakach

Eric Sakach is an investigator and regional director for the West Coast Regional Office of The Humane Society of the United States. For nearly three decades, Eric has been involved in the investigation of illegal cockfighting and dogfighting ventures.

His undercover work has lead to the arrests of more than 500 persons involved in illegal cockfights and dogfights and the first convictions ever under the federal Animal Welfare Act.

Eric has served as an instructor for numerous state and federal law enforcement personnel throughout the United States, Canada and Brazil, and he has authored and contributed to numerous articles and investigations manuals on the subject of illegal animal fighting.

Media outlets throughout the country including Dateline NBC, National Geographic Television, MSNBC, Hard Copy, Inside Edition, A Current Affair and Animal Planet have interviewed Eric on a variety of animal related issues.

©The HSUS/Kathy Milani

The HSUS's Chris Schindler cradles a bird at a cockfighting operation raided Oct. 13 in San Diego, Calif.

Chris Schindler

Chris Schindler is the Deputy Manager of Animal Fighting Law Enforcement for The Humane Society of the United State. In this capacity, Chris works with law enforcement agencies across the country to dismantle illegal animal fighting operations.

On a day-to-day basis, he compiles intelligence on known or suspected dogfighters to assist prosecutors in bringing their cases to court. Chris also gathers information for local law enforcement agencies and helps educate them on the signs and substance of illegal animal fighting operations.

Prior to coming to The HSUS, Chris spent several years as the Senior Humane Law Enforcement Officer and Field Advisor for the Washington Humane Society in Washington, D.C. There he worked extensively to battle animal cruelty issues—especially dogfighting, which is at near-epidemic levels in the D.C. metropolitan area.

Besides arresting illegal animal fighters and rescuing animals from cruel deaths in the fighting ring, Chris gained valuable insight into the motivations and mentality of dogfighters.

Diane Webber

Diane Webber is the Director of Disaster Preparedness & Shelter Management for The Humane Society of the United States. Diane began her career in animal welfare in 1982 by hosting a city-wide bake sale to raise funds for her local animal shelter. Little did she know that one bake sale would lead to a lifetime of protecting animals.

For the past 25 years, Diane has operated animal shelters in Colorado and Washington State. She has co-authored an operational guide for the proper handling of reptiles in the shelter environment for the American Humane Association and assisted Kitsap County Washington rewrite their animal control ordinances and their first disaster plan for animals.

Since 2003, Diane has been an integral part of The HSUS serving as regional director for both the Midwest and Central States regions before joining the disaster services team in her current capacity. Her disaster work includes serving as co-Incident Commander for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, managing the Mississippi side of HSUS's response efforts.

See the Video

HSUS Undercover: Inside Animal Fighting