Anyone who pays any attention to these things will know that animal abusers get ridiculously low criminal repercussions for their heinous crimes.
Prison sentences are woefully low for those who harm and abuse helpless creatures, but in the US, this is all changing.
There is a growing wave of states and counties which are changing the law and hiking up penalties for animal abusers by revealing their names on an animal offenders registry, in a similar way to the sex offenders register.
Just last month, a town in Southwestern Indiana created the database, which included personal information as well as a link to the abuser’s court records.
City Councilwoman Missy Mosby has argued for the registry for some time, so the recent adoption of the registry is another great step on the way to improving animal welfare.
The measures are aiming to protect the welfare of animals by allowing pet shops and shelters to check out anybody who wishes to own a pet, as in the state of Indiana.
There is a wider law enforcement issue at play here, as well as the abuse of helpless animals. Those who are cruel to animals are much more likely to enact violent crime against people, according to The Independent.
Tennessee was the first state to introduce the registry in January of 2016, though numerous counties had enacted the measure prior to this in New York state, including New York City, and an area in Illinois.
There are proposals underway in parts of Florida, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Texas, Washington and Rhode Island.
In the UK, there was a petition to introduce a similar initiative, but this was swept under the rug by the general election last year.
There are still those campaigning for the introduction of such measures, though this again may be scuppered by Brexit.
The Campaign for an Animal Abuser Register is an active UK group which wishes to create the register to protect the defenceless animals from human cruelty, as well as to potentially prevent crimes against humans in the future.
Their website states:
The reasons why someone abuses an animal can be complex. However, there can be no doubt, from convicted cases alone, that a large number of individuals enjoy being cruel to animals.
They enjoy torturing a defenceless living being, often a loving pet, and they enjoy watching their pain and suffering. These abusers go on to abuse again because they strongly desire to repeat that experience.
They might choose other animals as their victims, or they might choose human victims, and sometimes they also kill their victims. That taste for cruelty and killing is what sets animal abusers apart from other criminals.
That is why they are dangerous, and that is why we need an Animal Abuser Registry.
It is incredible to see this movement is gaining momentum. When animals can’t protect themselves, it’s vital that we protect them instead.
