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

PEIThe P.E.I. Humane Society is warning Islanders to be on the lookout for people who may be impersonating animal protection officers.Impersonators’ goal could be to gather information or to seize someone’s animal, says society Ryan McKellop · CBC News · Posted: Jun 20, 2025 3:48 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours agoThis is what an animal protection officer’s uniform looks like. The P.E.I. Humane Society says officers will never intervene in a situation if they are not in uniform. (Nicola MacLeod/CBC)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 warnsThe 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 unclearThe impersonators’ goal isn’t clear, said Travis, but their motive could be to gather information or to seize someone’s animal.