The Monroe County Legislature voted unanimously Tuesday night to establish an animal abuser registry to prevent known abusers from purchasing or adopting pets from an animal shelter or pet dealer.
The bipartisan legislation would establish an online list of individuals in the county who were convicted of animal neglect, abuse, and cruelty.
"Overall, this is a major accomplishment for Monroe County, and for the well-being of our animals," said Legislator Jackie Smith, a Republican who sponsored the bipartisan resolution.
For years, animal welfare advocates have pushed for a statewide registry, but those efforts have languished in Albany. Instead, local municipalities have slowly begun establishing their own online databases.
According to the New York State Humane Association, 35 counties have either set up registries or passed legislation to do so, including nearby Steuben, Livingston, and Ontario counties.
"It's the first step toward what we've been working on for a very long time in the animal welfare world," said Reno Di Domenico, vice president for humane law enforcement at Lollypop Farm, the Humane Society of Greater Rochester.
While he considers Tuesday night's vote a win, Di Domenico said abusers do find ways around legal barriers to pet ownership. Because there is no statewide registry, he points out that an individual convicted of animal abuse in Monroe County could travel to another county with no local abuser registry to get a pet.
"We found though, that most of those people really don't come to shelters. They’re going to backyard breeders or somebody in the community to obtain their pets," he added.
The Monroe County resolution cites studies showing a near 100% recidivism rate for certain types of animal abuse, including animal hoarding and the likelihood of animal abusers to commit violent acts against humans.
Under the legislation, individuals with animal abuse convictions would pay a $50 annual fee to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office to maintain the online registry. They would have 10 days from the date of their conviction to submit their name to the public registry, where it would remain for 10 years, unless their conviction was overturned.
The list will not be retroactive. It will only include individuals convicted of animal abuse no earlier than the date the local law is enacted.
Those who fail to register would face a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Any animal shelter or licensed pet dealer in Monroe County who transfers an animal to a known offender would be fined $500 for the first offense, $1,000 for a second offense, and $1,500 for each subsequent offense.
Some in the community have concerns about the way the registry will be enforced. Jim Seidewand, owner of Pet World and the Aqua Shoppe in Greece and East Rochester, spoke to county legislators during the public comment period before Tuesday's legislature meeting.
"You won't need a picture ID to vote, but you will need it to buy an angelfish," he said. "With 100-plus of your constituents a day buying fish from only our two stores, you think it's a good idea that they wait in line to prove that they are not a criminal?"
A spokesperson for Monroe County Executive Adam Bello said Bello supports the registry. But before he can sign it into law, a public hearing will be held at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 2.
