Proponents for tougher animal cruelty laws rallied outside the state capitol Wednesday. A number of measures are up for consideration this legislative session.
One of the bills would create an animal abuse registry where offenders would be listed for two years. Louisville Representative Kevin Bratcher says it’s modeled after a law in Tennessee, which he says ranks much higher than Kentucky in animal protection areas. One of those attending the outdoor rally was Timber Mullins of Hazard. She said she volunteers with the Kentucky River Regional Animal Shelter. “You see far too many animals come through the shelter who have been abused, who have been sexually abused and that’s what this whole bill is about,” said Mullins.
Addressing the crowd was Remy Simpson with Lexington’s Paws for the Cause group. He says his organization does what it can to help sheltered animals in need of difficult to deliver medical care. “We take in a lot of hard cases where dogs have been injured and they can’t find medical treatment within the shelter facility, so they’ll turn to us and we do everything we can. But, it’s too big a job for any one group,” explained Simpson.
A second bill filed this session makes a second cruelty offense a felony and a third would prohibit liability claims if a vehicle window is broken to free an animal in a hot car.
