Gov. Matt Meyer ceremonially signs a bill creating an animal abuse offender list at the Brandywine Valley SPCA — the bill officially became law last month.
“By creating a public Animal Abuse Offender Registry, we are giving shelters, adoption groups, and everyday Delawareans the tools they need to make informed decisions by ensuring that abusers can’t quietly re-enter spaces where animals rely on human care and compassion,” Gov. Meyer said in a statement.
Senate Bill 174, sponsored by State Sen. Nicole Poore (D-South New Castle), enables the Office of Animal Welfare to create a public list of animal abuse offenders in Delaware.
“All we wanted to do was put a tool in the toolbox, so that way a shelter or a breeder has the ability to be able to access the site and be able to say, ‘Okay, you know what? Now is not the time for this person to be able to adopt a pet,'" Sen. Poore said.
An individual may file a petition for removal from the list after two years from the conviction date of a misdemeanor or seven years from the conviction date of a felony.
The bill also prohibits animal shelters from approving pet adoptions to individuals who are on the animal abuse offender list, a tool Sen. Poore says shelters have been asking sought.
“I had talked to a shelter, a person at shelter, and they had said that they knew that someone had come back after they had been charged with a particular crime, knowing that this person should not be able to adopt, but they had no tools to be able to say, so sorry, you can't adopt this animal," she explained.
Poore says the Office of Animal Welfare is still working on launching the list for public access.
The legislation builds on animal welfare protections laws added in recent years, including a new law making it a felony to possess, sell or manufacture animal fighting paraphernalia with the intent to engage in the illegal practice.
