There's one for sex offenders, and there is one for arsonists. And now felony animal abusers may have one too. On Friday, February 12, 2010, California State Senate majority leader Dean Florez introduced a bill that would create the nation's first online registry for those found guilty of felony animal abuse crimes. The registry would have abuser's name, photograph, addresses, and places of employment. The individual's offense would also be posted.
It is not entirely surprising California is taking the lead on this idea. Recently, California voters passed Proposition 2, which instituted "new protections to chickens, pigs and cattle" that require farmers and ranchers provide the animals with room to move, stand, turn around, and lie down when they are crated or caged. Additionally, as Jesse McKinley reports in his article for the New York Times online about the registry, California became the first state "to outlaw so-called tail-docking of dairy cows [.]" Tail-docking is when the cow's tail is partly amputated in order to make milking easier.
According to the McKinley article, the Animal Legal Defense Fund helped draft the bill. The organization argues that in addition to providing this information to the public, it could also be helpful in preventing other violence in the future. McKinley quotes Stephan Otto, the legislative director of the group, as stating, '"We know there's a link between those who abuse animals and those who perform other forms of violence [.]"'
Civil libertarians have raised privacy concerns over these types of registries, but defense fund attorney Joshua Marquis maintains the threat to privacy is over-matched by the positives of the registry--such as making the information available to potential employers. Others note that such a registry could help officials track puppy mills and animal-fighting rings.
McKinley reports that registries such as the one proposed in California have been considered in the past by other states, such as Tennessee in 2008, but the legislation has never passed. California may provide a better venue for this trend to change. Citizens have shown the will to pass animal-welfare measures, and generally such measures enjoy bi-partisan support in the Senate and the State Assembly.
Yet, the bill funds the registry by implementing a new tax on pet food that is unpopular with the pet food industry, and was '"an extremely controversial idea''' states Wayne Pacelle, the president and chief executive of the Humane Society of the United States. Pacelle has doubts as to the bill's success because of the tax measure.
Regardless, Senate majority leader Florez believes the measure has a chance. If the past is prologue in California, he may be right.
To read the McKinley article in the New York Times online, click here.
Posted: 02/22/10
