Thursday, October 14, 2010

Suffolk , NY approves animal abuse registry bill

Suffolk approves animal abuse registry bill

We hail the Suffolk County Legislature (NY) for unanimously approving a bill which created a law establishing a county registry for animal abuse offenders.

This new law, the first of its kind in the nation, allows the county to create a public registry of convicted animal abusers. A searchable database containing the names, aliases, addresses and photographs of animal abusers is patterned after the state's sex offender registry. The convicted abusers will pay a $50 annual fee for upkeep of the registry, and those who fail to register will be charged $1,000 or face jail time.

A companion bill is scheduled for a public hearing and it would require pet stores and animal shelters to check the registry before allowing anyone to purchase or adopt an animal. Passage as law would prohibit pet stores from selling an animal to a convicted abuser.

The Suffolk County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals deals with over 2,000 animal abuse cases in the county per year, and Roy Gross who heads the group reminds us that “Most serial killers began as animal abusers,” he said. “It's a known fact: people who hurt animals hurt people too."

How true. Anyone else picking up the clue phone? Suffolk VA are you inspired?
I dare to hope so.

'vie

It is time, America, it is time...

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