Abuse registry reasonable to save animals

Every year 2.7 million shelter animals are adopted. Sadly, every 19 seconds an animal is reported abused.

Recently, the Tennessee Animal Abuser Registration Act was passed, stating that an individual convicted of a crime against an animal will be listed on a website of animal abusers for two years. If the convicted person abuses an animal during the two year time frame, their name will remain on the website for another 5 years. After their sentence time is over, their name will be removed from the list.

The act went into effect Jan. 1 and acts as a registry for animal abusers. The website allows shelters and even individual owners to know who can be trusted to care for a pet. According to the National Anti-vivisection Society, Tennessee is the only state to pass this, or similar, legislation, but other states are waiting to be approved or denied.

Individuals may question the connection an act from Tennessee has with any state, including ours. The relevance, though, hides beneath what this bill offers, which is saving animals. Animals do not deserve to be tortured and betrayed. With this bill we can save the lives of a large number of animals for at least two years. If not saving them completely then making it harder for someone, who is known to neglect animals, to have access to an animal.

Making a registry mandatory in every state will allow for the wider protection of animals from abuse. Just as we save humans, living creatures, it is our duty to save defenseless animals from their potential attackers. They deserve justice just as we do. It is time that we give them that justice and stop the cruelty against them.

To support the spread of a registry across the country, visit the National Anti-vivisection Society website for more information and send an email to the senate in support of the cause.