Suffolk County lawmakers have approved legislation that gives some teeth to a new local law cracking down on animal abuse.
Legislators passed a bill Tuesday that bars pet stores, breeders and animal shelters from selling or giving animals to people listed on the county’s new animal abuse registry. County Executive Steve Levy is expected to be signed the bill into law.
It will require sellers to check the ID of prospective owners and adopters against the registry, which goes into effect May 23.
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“This will go a long way towards keeping new victims out of the hands of disturbed individuals who derive pleasure from the suffering of innocent animals,” Majority Leader Jon Cooper (D-Lloyd Harbor) said in a statement after the bill’s passage.
Violators of the new law will be fine $500 for the first offense, $1,000 for the second and $1,500 for subsequent infractions.
Suffolk in October created the nation’s first animal abuse registry under “Justin’s Law,” named after a dog found neglected while locked inside a foreclosed home in May 2010. It requires people convicted of cruelty to animals to register or face jail time and fines.
Animal rights activists praised the new bill as common sense legislation.
-With Associated Press
