After Long Wait, Animal Abuse Registry Approved
Creating an animal cruelty registry appears to be easier said than done, but after almost two years, Putnam County is set to have one.
The county Legislature in a unanimous vote, signed off on putting together an online registry of convicted animal abusers, in hopes of better protecting pets in Putnam. With all nine legislators in agreement, the registry joins a growing list of New York State counties taking action to fight animal abuse, including many adjacent to Putnam. The measure was brought forward by Republican county lawmaker Bill Gouldman soon after he came on board in early 2015.
Any resident put on the registry would be prohibited from owning or controlling any animal, including birds and fish for ten years. If they broke the law, the person could face between a $250-$1,000 fine or up to 15 days in jail. Animal cruelty is defined as organizing fights, not feeding, abandonment, poisoning, clipping or cutting ears of dogs, theft of pets, harming a service animal or sexual misconduct, according to the new law.
Any resident on the registry would need to pay $50 each year that would toward the website’s maintenance. The list would not include retroactive abusers.
The person who sells a pet to a person on the registry could also face trouble. A seller is responsible for checking the database that will be set up by the SPCA before any transaction is completed, according to the law.
Gouldman said while it took time to piece the law together, he called it the “perfect law for our county.”
“This law will create a registry which will stop and protect the members of our family who really can’t speak for themselves,” he added.
Legislature Chairwoman Ginny Nacerino said she was proud of the work done on behalf of innocent animals. Legislator Dini LoBue, who as Rules Committee chairwoman helped push the law along, said abusers are attracted to animals because they don’t have a voice “and with the adoption of this registry the animals will have a voice.”
SPCA chief Ken Ross Jr. and his son, detective Ken Ross III, as well as District Attorney Bob Tendy all had a hand in working on the law.
Patterson resident Andrew DeStefano, who is a retired NYPD captain and sits on the SPCA board, noted there is a correlation between animal abuse and more serious crimes like domestic abuse.
“It takes a lot of courage–we have a lot of laws on the books–to put one more law on the books,” DeStefano said.
