Should Felony Animal Abusers Register Like Sex Offenders? February 24, 2010
Photo by Marci Stenberg
A bill by Sen. Dean Florez of California proposes that felony animal abusers should be listed on a public registry. This is the same tactic used with sex offenders. The hope is that if you know who has committed a crime, you can help prevent those same crimes in the future.
Florez said animal abuse is especially bad in the Central Valley. He said the biggest problem has been with hoarders, people who keep more than usual numbers of animals as pets, without having the means to take care of those animals. Some hoarders have been found with hundreds of animals, often living in appalling conditions, Florez said.
“We’ve had a lot of convicted hoarders moving into the Valley,” Florez said. “There’s no way to find out about these people until it’s too late.”
The program would be paid for by placing a levy of 3 cents per pound of pet food. That figures to about a buck fifty a year for the average companion animal guardian. It also ensures that the state (as we all know, Cali is broke) doesn’t have to pay for the program.
This bill would surely help prevent animal abuse. I have no doubts about that. However, I’m always a bit nervous when we take away people’s rights to privacy. Should felons expect the same rights to privacy as a law abiding citizen? Should certain crimes be up for public display while others remain more confidential? For example, wouldn’t it be helpful for women out in the dating world to know if the guy they are seeing has been convicted of domestic abuse? Or is it wrong to judge people based on their past behavior? People do change. Any thoughts? I like this idea. It would be great for animals. But what about, instead of making it public, making it mandatory for a person who has been convicted of animal abuse to notify the local law enforcement about their crime instead of making it common public knowledge?
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