Legislative news out of Florida and Rhode Island
A case where an accused person was fined just $50 to cover court costs after pleading no contest in an “animal mistreatment” case, a Rhode Island lawmaker wants to push for tougher punishments.
Rep. David Bennett is sponsoring a bill to raise the fine to $1,000 for convicted animal abusers and it would prohibit them from possessing an animal for five years.
And in Florida, the Miami Herald is reporting on a bill that “would allow animal shelters to decide on a case-by-case basis if dogs bred to attack — often pit bulls — or those used as bait to train fighters — think poodles — could be rehabilitated and, eventually, adopted.”
So this bill would allow former fighting dogs to be adopted, at least those who are shown to have recovered from their ordeals.
We are pushing for Massachusetts legislation that would allow pets to be placed in domestic violence restraining orders. Very often both people and their pets suffer abuse together.
I hope this proposal will be enacted. We are seeing more and more information of late tying domestic abuse to animal cruelty.
And as you know, often the abuser will threaten harm to the family pets to keep the spouse quiet about the abuse.