MAYVILLE – Residents and those that interact with pets for a living have endorsed a county animal cruelty registry that would mimic the principles of a sex offender registry; hence preventing convicted pet abusers from purchasing or obtaining animals from any animal shelter or pet seller.
“I certainly expect that this (animal cruelty registry) will pass the Legislature,” said County Executive George Borrello earlier this month. “There’s certainly a lot of pet lovers in the legislature.”
The legislature tabled the motion last month after language was added to appease a particular group, according to several people with knowledge of the proceedings.
Earlier this month, the community, sometimes accused of not participating in public functions like school board meetings or city council meetings, was steadfast in its support of restrictions like the ones the proposed animal cruelty registry would put in place.
The law would create an online registry that would include the name of any county resident who has been convicted of animal abuse crimes.
Chautauqua County Humane Society’s Executive Director Kellie Roberts spoke to our reporters after the infamous dog hanging this month. Roberts said there is more animal cruelty going on “than anybody is aware of.” She cited the difficulty in identifying the crime.
“I am hoping that some of the cases we’ve seen will help bring this stuff to the forefront,” Roberts said.
We spoke to a Mary Hummerich earlier this month, who told us that she is a believer that animal cruelty is a step towards something worse.
“If you could do that to an animal what’s next?”
On Tuesday, Chautauqua County Sheriff Joe Gerace told WNYNewsNow that he originally brought the idea of an animal cruelty registry to the county’s law department last year but needed help getting the bill passed. Gerace said he sought the help of County Executive George Borrello, who has aggressively promoted the idea that will soon become local law.
