It’s a usual scene in the United States. When a natural disaster hits, owners typically leave their dogs, cats and other domesticated animals – tied up outside, locked in a cage, or simply running free inside the abandoned house, scared.
However, with the new Senate Bill 1738, people will have to stop all these from happening.
Under this new bill, it prohibits “a person from restraining a dog outside and unattended during a manmade disaster or a natural disaster.” This also authorizes veterinarians to report any suspected patient criminal violations to officers and to authorize contracts in selling horses or other animals, which includes a “covenant” to continue caring for the animal.
Filed by Florida lawmaker, Joe Gruters, the bill states that those who abandon their animal companions by tying them up also commit animal cruelty. With that, those found guilty will be fined up to $5,000 and a first-degree animal cruelty charge that may be punishable by up to a year in prison.
One example of this is during the Hurricane Florence in North Carolina, wherein a lot of dogs had been abandoned. In the video below, it clearly shows that they were so distressed, especially since the water continues to rise above them.
The bill proposal has passed through the Senate Agriculture Committee with five yeses and no votes against it. If it passes into law, it could come into effect by July 1.
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