CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla. (WTXL) — House Bill 921 requires vets in Florida to report suspected animal abuse. Local animal groups support the change, but they're also calling for more.
- Animal advocates argue current animal abuse laws need to be strengthened.
- One animal rescue argues not all vet reporting leads to an arrest, and they say many suspected abusers would not visit a vet.
- Watch the video below to learn more about the bill and the response from animal advocates.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Florida lawmakers are introducing more laws to help protect animals, including one bill that, if it goes into law, would require vets and others to report suspected animal cruelty.
I'm Serena Davanzo in Downtown Tallahassee. I asked animal shelters in our area for their thoughts about this bill.
"All day, every day. We've seen, I mean, we see it constantly. I mean, it just is never-ending for them," said the founder of Champs Chance Alicia Bopp.
According to Florida statutes, animal cruelty can include several actions, including fighting, baiting, or abandoning animals.
Alicia Bopp with Champs Chance in Gadsden County says animal cruelty happens often and says animals who've been abused become very distrusting of people.
"A lot of times they're scared and won't come to people. So you'll have dogs that you can't catch," said Bopp. "You have to get a trapper involved to be able to help that dog, because you can't even put your hands on them."
This new bill, House Bill 921, would require vets, vet techs, and clinic staff in the state of Florida to report suspected animal abuse or neglect to police, animal control, or other official investigators. If that report is done in "good faith," that person is protected from punishment.
I called Wakulla Animal Group President Teresa Brannan for her thoughts about this bill.
"If it becomes law, it will go into effect this coming July. What does Wakulla Animal Group say about this?"
Brannan replied, "We feel that this is a step in the right direction towards animal welfare."
Brannan also said that the current laws need to be strengthened so abusers are held accountable. Bopp agrees with Brannan, and she argues if abuse is happening, animal owners likely would not go to a vet.
She says, in a recent abuse case, vets confirmed the abuse, but they could not get the owner charged.
"Spirit was one of our biggest cases. He had been hit by a car two weeks prior. His pelvis was shattered. He was just drug around his whole back end," explained Bopp. "He couldn't use the bathroom on his own, and he was with an owner. And we took him to the vet. We were able to prove by two different vets that he was abused and that they had not taken him to the vet after he got hit by the car. And we still could not get Gadsden County Sheriff's Office to pursue charges."
This bill would go into effect in July if passed into law.
Other animal-related laws went into effect on the 1st, one setting new rules for pet insurance and the other increasing penalties for aggravated animal cruelty.
If you wish to learn more about those laws, check out this story.
In Downtown Tallahassee, Serena Davanzo ABC 27.
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