Arizona Senate votes down animal abuser registry bill
The Arizona Senate voted down a bill Tuesday that would have created a registry for people convicted of abusing animals.
The bill would have required people convicted of animal cruelty, animal fighting or bestiality to register with the Department of Public Safety. And it would have prohibited a person from knowingly giving an animal to a person on the list.
“This just creates a registry with DPS, so a shelter can make a phone call to make sure that somebody’s convicted of this heinous crimes [sic] don’t adopt a dog or cat,” said Sen. Sonny Borrelli (R-Lake Havasu).
Sen. Christine Marsh (D-Phoenix) was one of 17 lawmakers from both parties who voted against the bill. She said she pulled her support after the Arizona Humane Society came out against the bill.
Marsh said the Humane Society no longer supported the bill due to an amendment that exempted pet stores from a $250 fine imposed on people who knowingly adopt animals to a person on the abuser list.
“This is probably, maybe a step in the right direction, but if we’re going to be passing bills to protect our animals, which we definitely should do, then I think we need one that doesn’t have some of these unintended consequences and some that might actually get the support of the Arizona Humane Society,” Marsh said.
Borrelli said he negotiated with several groups, and pet stores didn’t want to make young, minimum wage workers responsible for checking the registry under the proposed law.
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