P.E.I. Humane Society warns of reported impersonations of animal protection officers

The P.E.I. Humane Society is warning Islanders to be on the lookout for people who may be impersonating animal protection officers.

There have two been reports in the past month of people in plain clothes approaching members of the public and claiming to be officers.

One incident happened in a rural area of eastern Prince Edward Island, and the other in Queens County. 

Ashley Travis, the humane society's development and communications co-ordinator, said real animal protection officers are always in marked uniforms and vehicles.

WATCH | Beware of people impersonating animal protection officers in P.E.I., humane society warns:

Beware of people impersonating animal protection officers in P.E.I., humane society warns

5 hours ago

Duration 1:44

The P.E.I. Humane Society is warning Islanders that it's been getting reports of plain-clothed people claiming to be animal protection officers. The group says it's not sure why this is happening. CBC's Nicola MacLeod explains.

"Their outfits are entirely black, they have lots of equipment they keep with them. They have gloves, they have squeaky toys for dogs," she said. 

"They look like officers and they have a very clear label on their chest that says 'animal protection.'"

Even off-duty animal protection officers wont approach a situation without wearing their uniforms because they include safety gear, Travis said. 

The humane society's staff suspects there have been more interactions with the impersonators that have gone unreported.

Motive unclear

The impersonators' goal isn't clear, said Travis, but their motive could be to gather information or to seize someone's animal.

"We want to advise everybody, you don't owe a stranger any information you're not willing to share," she said.

"Officers... will always be identified as officers and they're the people you want to trust and rely on to share information about your pet's health and about your pets safety."

She added that officers who are seizing an animal will always come with the proper paperwork.

"If an animal is being seized, you'll be well aware of the situation and be informed about what's going on and be given paperwork to that effect."

Anyone with information, including descriptions of the impersonators and licence plate numbers, is asked to email or call the humane society so staff can pass the details on to police.