Libertyville animal rescuer Sandy Wisniewski hopes to empower more citizens with information on animal rights through her class, “Say no to animal abuse and neglect.”

The five-week course, starting Feb. 13, will take students through the specifics of the Humane Care for Animals Act, the Illinois law that protects animal rights, and will address possible solutions to preventing animal abuse.

“People don’t even know where to look to see what the laws are,” Wisniewski said. “We’re in our infancy when it comes to animal laws. My goal is to educate people about the laws we do have.”

Each class will touch on various elements of the Act, while Wisniewski, director of the non-profit Animal Education and Rescue, will lead discussions on animals’ body language, and the correlations between animal, spousal and child abuse.

Guest speakers will also discuss the different roles people in the animal and legal field have played in local humane investigations and court cases, such as the Muddy Paws animal shelter case in which dozens of animals starved and dehydrated to death, Wisniewski said.

“People need to understand how they are enforcing the laws. . . It’s not just that there are laws in place, it’s who enforces the laws,” she said.

In her experience, Wisniewski said, it is often the case that professionals in the law enforcement, legal and judicial fields who do not work in the animal field are unfamiliar with animal rights, which is all the more reason to educate the general public.

“We have to have citizens learn and put pressures on judges and attorneys to enforce the laws,” she said.

Wisniewski started the class last year, and has mostly been attended by people interested in becoming humane investigators, professionals who work with people who are abused, and others who have a general interest in animal rights.

While some dark issues of abuse are discussed in the classes, Wisniewski plans to put a positive light on animals’ rights. Attendees do not have to fear seeing gruesome images of animals, she said.

“I always try to put on a stem of something positive,” she said. “While we are talking about heavy subjects, we’re also talking about the solutions we can come to, to help make sure this is something that can be prevented.”

The class will be on Mondays, starting Feb. 13, at the Libertyville Civic Center, 135 W. Church Street. 

The cost is $125. For more information or to register, go to www.aear.org.