Dogs and Dames

Grabbed from link

 

In California, those who would abuse of our animals may soon be getting a taste of what sex offenders get treated to nationwide: their names, addresses and places of employment will be listed in an online database accessible to anyone who wants to know who and where they might be. This, according to yesterday’s New York Times:

“The proposal, made in a bill introduced Friday by the State Senate’s majority leader, Dean Florez, would be the first of its kind in the country and is just the latest law geared toward animal rights in a state that has recently given new protections to chickens, pigs and cattle.”

It’s the 21st century version of getting hung out in stocks in the middle of the town square. It’s also protection against cruelty offenders for those of us who worry about our pets and/or livestock. It doesn’t hurt to know whether your neighbors might harbor a insensitivity to animals, right?

In case it’s not obvious, the rationale for registration akin to that for sex offender’s is quite simple: those who would abuse of animals are prime candidates for the perpetration of abuse against humans––children in particular.

Even if it seems a slap on the wrist, a big brother not-so-nicety, and/or not much of a deterrent against future crimes, I can’t help thinking it’s a step in the right direction all the same. Given that crimes against animals are rarely prosecuted to the full extent of the law, an online database would serve as additional backstop for those who might otherwise get off scot-free.

Still think it’s an over the top approach? Consider that arsonists in CA also have their own registry. And animal abusers, it’s well understood, have as high a rate of recidivism as either of these registration-requiring groups. To wit, the NYT piece offers this:

“One supporter of the proposed law, Gillian Deegan, an assistant commonwealth’s attorney in Botetourt County, Va., says such a registry could also be valuable in tracking people who run puppy mills and animal-fighting rings, as well as hoarders, who sometimes collect hundreds of animals, often resulting in neglect.

‘A lot of times these people will just pick up and move to another jurisdiction or another state if they get caught,’ said Ms. Deegan, who has written on animal welfare laws. ‘It would definitely help on those types of cases where people jump around.’ One Web site — Petabuse.com — already offers a type of online registry, with listings of animal offenders and their crimes.”

Much as the welfare crowd appreciates this proposal, it’s not likely to pass. And that’s probably because the state’s approach to paying for the registry’s maintenance is all about taxes on pet food, something the powers that be behind your kibble are none to pleased about.

Jacking up pet food prices is no solution, they say. After all, why offer pet owners more of an incentive to make their own food? I, on the other hand, would see a pet food tax that supports an animal cruelty offender’s registry as a pretty darn good reason to buy more of that machine extruded stuff. How about you?

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