Animal Abuse Registry Bill ‘Dead’ in Maryland
The bill was proposed amid reports of animal abuse in Maryland.
Louie the Dog
Louie is feeling better after being thrown from a balcony in Owings Mills, said Amy Clark, an animal shelter assistant.
Nayana Davis
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This story was updated Friday at 9:30 a.m. with comments from Maryland State Sen. Ronald Young's office.
A bill that would have placed an animal abuser’s photo and address on a registry for 10 years did not survive during this session of the Maryland General Assembly, according to a national lobbying group for pet stores.
The House Judiciary Committee voted against House Bill 1020 bill on March 20 and the companion Senate bill failed to advance from the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, according to the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, which was lobbying against passage of the bill.
The council posted an update about the bill on its Facebook page Thursday.
Maryland State Sen. Ronald Young proposed the Senate bill that would have created a statewide animal abuse registry as a means of preventing convicted abusers from acquiring additional pets.
According to CBS, if the bill would have passed, an animal abuser’s photo and address would be listed in the registry for 10 years. Such information would be placed on a public website.
A person would be subject to the registry for such mistreatment as neglecting an animal, poisoning an animal or leaving a pet unattended.
A spokeswoman from Young's office said Friday she was unsure if the senator would reintroduce the bill next session, but that he would be examining the issue in the interim.
Representatives from the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council testified against the bill, saying it would create excessive burdens on pet owners, according to a legislative update from the group.
Council officials said pet store owners, or anyone who sells a pet, would have been responsible for determining whether a person looking to buy an animal was on the registry and would have faced fines up to $10,000 for failing to do so.
The bill was proposed as accounts of animal abuse made headlines in Maryland.
In January, a Yorkshire Terrier was brought to an animal shelter after being thrown from a 23-foot balcony in Owings Mills.
And in Columbia, 40 dead animals were found in a home being occupied by a woman police say may have been involved in an animal rescue group. A Columbia woman was charged earlier in March in the incident.
A grand jury indicted Elizabeth Martha Lindenau, 40, with 69 counts of animal cruelty. She faces up to three years in prison and a $345,000 fine.
Nick Green
5:59 pm on Friday, March 30, 2012
So the pet industry thinks that it is worse for a person seeking to sell an animal to have to spend a couple of minutes looking up a name on a registry, than it is for that animal to be abused. Nice to know what matter$ most to them.
Our shelters are filled with loving cats, dogs, and other animals that need a home. Adopt, don't buy. It's time to put the pet industry on the "endangered species" list.
Doglady
8:32 pm on Saturday, March 31, 2012
Right on ! ! ! ! Well said
Adrianne
11:25 pm on Saturday, March 31, 2012
The problem with an abuse registry is that is only looks at people convicted in Maryland of animal abuse. That happens rarely, rarely, rarely, rendering such a registry pretty useless. Shelters and rescues are much better at making such judgements about people...they are called "DNA"s or "Do Not Adopt to".
The problem with laws like these is that they sound well intentioned and a great idea, but in practice they are not very useful.
Nick Green
11:47 am on Sunday, April 1, 2012
Adrianne,
You make a good point, but regardless, an animal abuse registry could at least list the names of those so convicted, and it would a base upon which to build for more enforcement of animal abuse laws.
Adrianne
10:58 pm on Sunday, April 1, 2012
@Nick...in my experience it's not acceptable when lawmakers write laws because they feel they "have to do SOMEthing". It's critical that they do the RIGHT thing, and that is to write laws that are functional. An abuse registry is simply not very functional. You are absolutely right, however, in that ENFORCEMENT is the critical component of all this. The problem we have is not that we don't have enough law. The crimes need to taken more seriously and until we have that it's not prudent to keep writing more and more laws that aren't enforced.
DONNA SPITZER
11:05 am on Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Good Job MD Assembly, CUT Education budget & Show NO mercy for MD pets !!!
And we pay your salaries with our taxes WHY???? YOU don't listen to us!!!
We DO NOT want education cut & WE WANT animals protected...Let's cut You & Save Kids & Animals !!!!!!