It's Great To Be A Pet In Illinois
By Chuck Sudo in News on Dec 17, 2013 5:30PM
The Animal Defense Legal Fund released a year-end report ranking all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories for the strength and comprehensiveness of their animal protection laws and Illinois ranked atop the list as being “the best state for animals.”
It’s the sixth straight year the Land of Lincoln ranked first on the group’s list. The Animal Defense Legal Fund ranks each state on 15 different categories of animal protection including felony penalties for cruelty, neglect, abandonment, fighting and sexual assault; harsher penalties for repeat offenders; adequate definitions and standards for basic animal care; mandatory reporting of suspected animal abuse by veterinarians or law enforcement agencies; measures to mitigate and recover animal care costs for abused pets seized by animal welfare agencies; and mental health evaluations and counseling for offenders.
Despite Illinois’ tops-in-the-nation ranking the group said there’s room for improvement. They said the state could have tougher penalties on the books for neglect and abandonment; more comprehensive definitions and standards for basic animal care; a registry for animal abusers; and could list animal fighting as a RICO predicate offense. The top five is rounded out by Oregon, Michigan, Maine and California. The worse five states on the list are Kentucky, Iowa, South Dakota, New Mexico and Wyoming.
Read the full report (in PDF form) here.
