People who abuse pets should not be allowed to acquire more pets. It's just that simple. Yet they often do. And at many pet stores, rescues, and animal shelters, there are few or no ways of learning if someone has harmed an animal before.
That's why two counties in Florida have implemented
animal abuse registries, and a third may join their ranks soon.
This is an important way to keep pets safe, and the rest of Florida must follow suit. Sign the petition!These registries are not public, but the information is shared with county animal shelters, rescue groups, pet stores, and breeders. These organizations are
required to check the database first before selling or adopting out an animal. The purpose is to ensure that no one with a civil or criminal conviction of animal cruelty is allowed to acquire a pet.
Everyone on the list must have first been found guilty of animal abuse or animal cruelty in a court of law, and a judge must have - as a result - banned the person in question from owning, living, and working with animals. This could also include people who have been found guilty of neglect, such as in
extreme hoarding situations.If an organization refuses to check the database first and ends up selling or adopting out a pet to a known abuser, the organization could be penalized for putting an animal in harm's way. That's important because
organizations need to bear some responsibility for what happens to the defenseless, trusting animals after they hand the pet over to a new family.
These confidential, court-based ways of protecting pets from known animal abusers are an important preventative approach to dealing with animal abuse. The rest of Florida must pass a similar law! Sign the petition now. 