Cesar Perea is American Humane Society’s Associate Vice President of Rescue. Cesar has over twenty years of professional law enforcement experience, characterized by broad leadership, dedication and a strong passion for advancing animal welfare and humane initiatives. He has committed his career to investigating and prosecuting complex animal crime cases and leading rescue efforts during disasters, ensuring the safety and well-being of vulnerable animals.
Cesar joined the No Animals Were Harmed® program as an on-call Certified Animal Safety Representative in May 2022. Prior to this position, he held senior leadership roles for over a decade as the Investigations and Disaster Response Captain at the Los Angeles SPCA. Since August 2014, Cesar has also conducted independent investigations for the No Animals Were Harmed® program. Through his transformative investigative work, he has made a lasting impact on safeguarding animal actors in filmed entertainment worldwide.
While at the Los Angeles SPCA, Cesar developed and implemented collaborations and advancements in technology, training, equipment and forensics to combat animal exploitation in Southern California. Most notably, he led a multi-year investigation that resulted in a 73-count indictment and the subsequent conviction of the “Sick Puppy Peddler,” an international clandestine puppy smuggling and sales operation. Additionally, Cesar was an invaluable Blood Sports Task Force member, collaborating seamlessly with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, he helped in an investigation that dismantled the largest cockfighting operation in U.S. history.
Cesar also led the Los Angeles SPCA Disaster Animal Response Team, which deployed personnel to assist the Houston SPCA during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, the 2018 Los Angeles and Ventura County Woolsey Fire, and, most notably, served as the acting Animal Services Emergency Coordinator at the Emergency Operations Center during the Caldor Fire in El Dorado County, California, in 2021.
Following a highly publicized incident involving a local officer-involved shooting of a dog, Cesar took the initiative to develop the “Dog Behavior for Law Enforcement” curriculum aimed at reducing such encounters. As a result of his efforts, the Department of Justice invited him to participate in a forum in Washington, D.C., hosted by President Obama’s Task Force on 21st-Century Policing in collaboration with the Department of Justice’s Office of Community-Oriented Policing Services, where he served as a subject matter expert. Cesar developed protocols for less-lethal munitions tactics, which he implemented and executed during high-risk entries in bloodsports raids where loose dogs were present. These tactics earned him the role of point person during these operations, resulting in the saving of countless dogs that would have otherwise faced lethal force.
Cesar was born in San Diego, California, where he received his education and earned a degree in Administration of Justice. He worked in law enforcement for over a decade, first as a deputy with the San Diego Sheriff’s Department and then as a police officer with the San Diego Police Department. Later, he took on the role of Lieutenant, leading the Investigations and Disaster Response Team at the San Diego Humane Society, where he led a team to rescue horses from rising floodwaters at the United States-Mexico border during the Great Flood of 2008.
His deep experience and passion for animal welfare is reflected in his lifesaving work with the American Humane Society rescue program.