Help Michigan help the voiceless by showing support for an Animal Abuse Registry

Signing this petition will convey to the Michigan State Senate the overwhelming support for the creation of a statewide animal abuse registry.

The high profile animal abuse cases in Michigan should never overshadow the single offenses of cruelty or neglect punishable in a court of law. No person should ever be allowed to own a companion animal once a felony abuse case has been proven.

In February 2016, the Michigan State House passed a bill that would establish a statewide animal abuse registry. If the State Senate passes the bill, then Michigan would become the second state in the U.S. to adopt this type of registry.

The way the proposed animal abuse registry would work is that anyone convicted of animal abuse would have their name put into Michigan's Internet Criminal History Access Tool (ICHAT) database. Animal shelters and other animal control organizations would be required to check ICHAT before sending an animal home with anyone. If they find that a person has been convicted of animal abuse within five years, they cannot send an animal home with that person.

New York City started a citywide animal abuse registry in 2014, and the first statewide registry went into effect on January 1, 2016 in Tennessee. Please join me in asking the Michigan State Senate to approve a statewide animal abuse registry. Not only will this go a long way in protecting Michigan's animals, it could encourage other states to do so as well.