Animal-Rights Activist Says Politicians Turning Blind Eye to Dogs on Skid Row

Dogs on Skid Row are being fed fentanyl, bred for money, and otherwise abused and neglected, and politicians are doing nothing about ... so says an animal rights activist.

Joey Tuccio -- an advocate for and rescuer of animals, who works with the nonprofit Starts With One Today -- stopped by "TMZ Live" to shine a light on dogs living on Los Angeles' notorious Skid Row ... a collection of streets in downtown where many homeless people live.

Tuccio says there are about 100 dogs living in the area ... and, while he doesn't want to see people's pets taken away, he's concerned about the dogs he's seen, which he says some people are using as guinea pigs to test fentanyl.

He also points out that the people living on the street here generally aren't individuals who are down on their luck after recently losing their jobs or their homes and don't want to give up their pets.

He says he mostly sees people who are abusing the dogs for profit, and don't really care about the animals ... and, he points to certain indications that a criminal element is profiting off such abuse.

As for the cops and politicians stepping in ... Joey says people shouldn't hold their breath -- 'cause he says his colleagues have spoken to officials who say they're sympathetic to the plight of homeless people, and they don't want to regulate them too much.