Animal rights advocates and a bipartisan group of Massachusetts lawmakers are pushing for a bill that would toughen penalties for animal cruelty. Under the bill, cruelty to animals could be punishable by up to 5 years in jail, and a fine of $10,000.
In addition to these penalties, another provision would create a statewide registry of people who have been convicted of animal abuse, and make that list available to animal shelters, pet stores and breeders. The bill was filed following last year’s highly-publicized case involving Puppy Doe– a brutally abused pit bull found in Quincy.
Senator Bruce Tarr of Gloucester, who is sponsoring the legislation, says animal issues cannot be put on the back burner: "Often times these are the things that suffer from inertia. They’re in a stack of bills, and they don’t get taken out of the stack of bills." Still, Tarr says he’s optimistic the bill will get passed before the end of the legislative session.
