Two bills would establish a statewide registry
State Legislators Harvey Santana and Paul Muxlow are happy to announce that bills to establish the first State Animal Abusers registry in the United States have been introduced in the Michigan House of Representatives. Currently only three counties in New York state have a mandatory database where persons convicted of the crime of animal abuse or neglect must register. Michigan would become the first state to enact such a law. This is a bipartisan effort that we hope will gather broad grassroots support from animal lovers across the state of Michigan.
Two bills would establish a statewide registry to protect animals from abuse and neglect. Any person convicted of a crime against an animal would have to register for a five-year period. All citizens would have access to the registry and could make sure that no pet they are selling or offering for adoption would go to a convicted animal abuser. Animal shelters would be mandated to use the registry before letting any of their animals be adopted.
The registry would be paid for by the fees attached to the penalties for those convicted of animal abuse or neglect.
We request that you join us in this effort and do a few things which will make the difference in getting these needed bills passed into law or seeing our beloved animals continue without any protections and be at risk.
We will be having a series of rallies and press conferences to publicize the bills. You are Invited to come and express your support.
May 17th Friday 10:30 AM
Blue Water Humane Sodety 6266 Lapeer Road
Port Huron, MI
This is an outdoor rally and you may bring your pets on the appropriate leash.
May 18th Saturday 12 noon Cooley Law School Room 529
111 Commerce St. SW
Grand Rapids, MI
This will be indoors so no pets can be accommodated but feel free to bring your pictures.
A bill does not become a law without lots of support from you the citizens. Your support just might be the difference between your State Representative or Senator voting for the bill or not doing so. And their vote could end up being the one that passes the bill or sinks it. It’s all up to you to help protect the animals of Michigan.
Please write or call your state representative and your state senator. You can find the names of who represents you at house.mi.gov and senate.mi.gov.
Tell them you support this bipartisan effort to make Michigan the first state in the country to protect our animals with a registry. There are far too many gruesome examples of horrific animal abuse in our state. Two of the most infamous serve as the inspiration to Representatives Muxlow and Santana in their efforts to enact this needed legislation.
For more information contact:
State Rep. Harvey Santana PO 80.30014
Lansing, Michigan 48909
Or via e-mail to:
HarveVSantana@house·mi.gov
On the subject line please put: Registry support
State Rep. Paul Muxlow PO Box 30014
Lansing, Michigan 48909
Or via e-mail to:
PauIMuxlow@house.mi.gov
On the subject line please put: Registry support
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What constitutes animal abuse under your bill?
A. Killing, torturing, maiming, poisoning or disfiguring an animal with a spine. Bestiality also would be considered a crime. Animal fighting or using animals as targets apart from hunting would be considered a crime.
Q. What about simple neglect of an animal? Is that part of your bill?
A. YES. Failure to feed, or properly care for an animal you own resulting in damage or death would be included.
Q. What about someone who abandons an animal? Would that be included?
A. YES. If they willfully abandon the animal they would be included.
Q. Who would be responsible for this Registry?
A. The Wayne County Animal Protection Division of the Wayne County Prosecutors office would be responsible for monitoring the registry for the entire state.
Q. Who must register?
A. Anyone convicted of the crime of animal abuse in Michigan or someone from another state and convicted in another state who then moves to Michigan.
Q. What age would this apply to?
A. 18 years and older.
Q. How long will a person be kept on the registry?
A. Five years after they serve their sentence.
Q. What else must a person on the list do besides register for it?
A. They must have a legal state ID with an accurate address and must notify the local law enforcement officials, where they live.
Q. Is there a cost to the person on the Registry?
A. YES. Each person on the registry will pay an annual fee of $100.00.
Q. What other states have this Registry?
A. No other state has it right now although there is pending legislation in at least five other states. Three counties in New York state do have it .
Q. Who would use this registry?
A. Anyone could access it but the information they could look at would be very limited to the name and photo of the person and what they did to get on the list. More detailed information would be available only to
appropriate law enforcement and animal professionals.
Q. Who would be legally obligated to use this list?
A. People in the business of selling or facilitating the adoption of animals. That would include pet stores, shelters, pounds, and the Humane Society.
Q. What if my neighbor down the street has some puppies for sale? Would they have to check the registry?
A. NO.
Q. Is there a way to get off the list if a person is mistakenly or wrongly placed on it?
A. YES. The bill provides for a mechanism with fast action to get off the list if you do not belong on it.
Q. What happens to a person who is supposed to be on the list but fails to register?
A. A convicted animal abuser who fails to properly register faces a one-year misdemeanor as a criminal penalty if convicted.
Q. What happens to the professional animal seller who fails to properly use the list.
A. For a first offense they would get a written warning. Further offenses could be criminal and they could get up to a $250 fine.
Q. Will this stop all animal abuse cases?
A. NO. And it is not intended to. It is a tool which will help prevent some animal abuse.
Q. Is there a connection between animal abuse and violence against human beings?
A. Absolutely. There is a mountain of data that shows a high correlation between spousal abuse, child abuse, serial killers and a pattern and history of animal abuse. The numbers and percentages vary from study to study but there is no doubt that there is a significant correlation between the two. “A Study of Firesetting and Animal Cruelty in Children: Family Influences and Adolescent Outcomes,” found that over a 10-year period, 6 to 12-year-old children who were described as being cruel to animals were more than twice as likely as other children in the study to be reported to juvenile authorities for a violent offense. In an October 2005 paper published in the Journal of Community Health, a team of researchers conducting a study over seven years in 11 metropolitan areas determined that pet abuse was one of five factors that predicted who would begin other abusive behaviors. In a 1995 study, nearly a third of pet-owning victims of domestic abuse reported that one or more of their children had killed or harmed a pet.
Q. What serial killers were also animal abusers?
A. The list is long but some of the more infamous would include
• Jeffrey Dahmer -murdered at least 17 people
• Ted Bundy-who confessed to killing 30 people
• David “son of Sam” Berkowitz murdered 6 people
• Dennis Radner killed 10 people in Kansas
• Columbine High School killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold-murdered 13 people
• Washington, D.C., sniper Lee Boyd Malvo, killed 17 people
And many many others who abused animals as a first step towards violence against humans.
Q. How many cases of animal abuse are there in Michigan each year?
A. We are not sure because there is no mandatory state-wide reporting mechanism but the number could well be in the
high hundreds. This law would change that, and we will have accurate state-wide statistics for the first time.
Q. How will the annual monitoring cost of the registry be paid for?
A. The fees collected from convicted offenders will cover the annual cost as estimated by a professional company which
produced an annual estimated cost study.