Madeline Bernstein is the President of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles (spcaLA). A frequent speaker and commentator on issues relating to animal welfare, ethics and law enforcement, she advocates the humane treatment of and respect for animals.
Bernstein currently serves as the president of the California Animal Welfare Association, as an advisory committee member of the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys Animal Cruelty Division, as an advisor to the California Science Museum exhibit A Dogs’ Tail and related IMAX film, and as a member of the California State Fish and Game Advisory Committee among others.
Bernstein has written numerous pieces including Preventing Shelter Liability with Adoption Contracts and co- authored a Law Review Article: Time to Feed the Evidence. Her blog, This Bitch Craves Attention: Animal Welfare in Los Angeles won the CBS People’s Choice Award 2011, and is often reprinted in various media. In 2012, Bernstein was the first Distinguished Visiting Animal Advocate for The Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis & Clark where she has returned as a visiting professor, and is the recipient of the Boeing Crystal Vision Award among others. Bernstein is the author of the book “Designer Dogs, an expose’” which was released in the fall of 2018 by Apollo Publishers.
Prior to joining spcaLA,
Bernstein has worked for the New York City Department of Ports and Terminals as Deputy Inspector General/Advocate and as a former Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx County District Attorney’s office.