Consolidated laws, animal abuser registry needed
There is no clear consensus on what the penalties should be for people convicted of animal abuse charges. But there appears to be broad agreement about the need for improved reporting of abuse cases, uniformity of animal cruelty laws and punishments across the state, and stiffer penalties for various offenses.
Of the two bills pending in the Legislature that would address many of the concerns, the strongest is Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew's (D-Cape May), who spent nearly two years meeting with the key constituencies to develop a comprehensive plan that updates the archaic animal abuse laws. His efforts deserve to be rewarded with speedy passage in the Legislature. Sen. Ellen Karcher, D-Monmouth, should work to ensure a companion bill is filed in the Senate, and acted upon quickly.
There also is a need for a registry of animal abusers - on the state and national levels. Sen. Leonard T. Connors Jr., R-Ocean, says he plans to reintroduce a bill that would create a statewide registry. He should find some Democrats to co-sponsor it. If he refers them to Bobbi Seidel's three-part series on animal abuse, he shouldn't have difficulty enlisting support.
Of the two bills pending in the Legislature that would address many of the concerns, the strongest is Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew's (D-Cape May), who spent nearly two years meeting with the key constituencies to develop a comprehensive plan that updates the archaic animal abuse laws. His efforts deserve to be rewarded with speedy passage in the Legislature. Sen. Ellen Karcher, D-Monmouth, should work to ensure a companion bill is filed in the Senate, and acted upon quickly.
There also is a need for a registry of animal abusers - on the state and national levels. Sen. Leonard T. Connors Jr., R-Ocean, says he plans to reintroduce a bill that would create a statewide registry. He should find some Democrats to co-sponsor it. If he refers them to Bobbi Seidel's three-part series on animal abuse, he shouldn't have difficulty enlisting support.
posted by Randy Bergmann at 6:27 PM
5 Comments:
I hope the animal abuse registry is easier to put in place than the sex offender registry...
pet-abuse.com works VERY hard to be user friendly and up-to-the-minute- current; check it out!
Randy Bergmann calling for even bigger government. There's a surprise. (NOT!)
You mean that same sex offender registry that doesn't make public 75% of the offenders living in the state (e.g., Tier 1 offenders)? Would that be the same sex offender registry that wastes enormous amounts of money and court time holding hearings to determine whether a sex offender is a low, medium or high risk offender, this notwithstanding the fact that the US Supreme Court has ruled that states are under no such obligation to do just that? Would this be the same sex offender registry that up until recently failed to provide a penalty for sex offenders who moved and didn't register their new address in a timely fashion?
Grow up, bleeding heart. Big government is not the answer to every problem in the world.
While I agree that better reporting will help reduce animal abuse, it would also help if the schools and the media stopped hyping events that are cruel to animals. These events include, but are not limited to, the Iditarod dog sled race, the circus and the rodeo.
To promote these barbaric events is to sanction a culture of animal cruelty.
Margery
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