By JEANETTE WOLFBERG
HUDSON—On July 10, The Columbia County Board of Supervisors voted down a local law that would have established an online animal abuser registry, sending it back to the Public Safety Committee for further discussion. That committee has already been talking about it at its own meetings.
The registry would identify “individuals residing in Columbia County,” 18 years old and older, “who have been convicted of animal abuse crimes,” in order to prevent “these individuals from adopting, purchasing, or otherwise obtaining animals.” Exempted would be youthful offenders with sealed records and people entitled to service animals by ADA rules. The County Sheriff’s Office would maintain the registry. Shelters, pet dealers and sellers would use it to screen clients.
An individual would stay on the registry for seven years following “release from incarceration or, if not incarcerated, from the date of judgment,” for their first animal abuse offense. But subsequent animal cruelty convictions would put one on registry for “up to life.” One can appeal an animal abuse conviction.
Twenty-two counties in New York State already have such a registry. Columbia County’s would contain links to them. “We accept responsibility for checking other registries,” said Linda Guntert, vice president of Everlasting Hope Animal Rescue of Hillsdale on June 18.
A goal is a statewide registry, said Wendy Guntert, Everlasting Hope’s president, in a conversation July 9. “We have Child Protective Services to keep children safe, we have Adult Services to keep adults safe, we have sex offender registries” so why not a registry to keep animals safe?
The County Sheriff’s Office and several supervisors supported the law, but several supervisors opposed it, and some supervisors said they will consider supporting it when certain technical details in the draft law are fixed and clarified.
The following reports what people said at a June 18 Public Safety Committee meeting, the July 9 conversation with Wendy Guntert, and the county full board meeting July 10.
Supervisor Robert Lagonia (Austerlitz) recommended “moving forward” with the proposal, because it has come up before, and “If we can save one pet, we’re doing something.”
“I support this,” added County Sheriff Don Krapf. “We’ve seen the results of cruelty to animals. Abuse of animals leads to abuse of people. The sexual offender registry is giving us practice. Of course, we don’t know how the animal abuse registry will work until we have it.”
“The Sheriff’s Office is willing to keep the registry updated,” said Wendy Guntert.
Supervisor Lagonia reported asking the County DA whether he supports the registry and being told Yes.
But Supervisor Tistrya Houghtling (New Lebanon) said the registry law would not feel “comfortable” to her. When she first heard the proposal, she thought “Okay, let’s do it.” But, she now explained, the ASPCA does not support animal abuse registries. It says the registry leads to “a false sense of security.” Besides, data shows that it does not decrease animal abuse recidivism. It has a “limited reach,” and can be expensive. Although it is not costing the county money, it will use the Sheriff’s resources.
ASPCA bases their recommendation on several years data, said Supervisor Brenda Adams (Canaan).
Supervisor Michael Chameides (Hudson, 3rd Ward) said he is “proud” that the county wants to help animals, but the registry would create a level of bureaucracy. And someone’s name appears on the register, that person can claim, “That’s not me. That’s just someone with the same name.”
In addition, Supervisor Chameides said Greene County’s registry did not save horses from abuse (see blotter story “Two charged in case of 13 starving horses,” June 20). Greene County’s Animal Abuse Registry has existed for two years and has nobody on it, somebody reported.
People pointed out that some county registries have few or no people on them. Either they have few animal abusers, or those they have had not been convicted.
Mr. Chameides recommended including prohibitions against getting more animals in sentences for animal abuse. In addition, he called for regulating the treatment of farm animals.
The ASPCA has set the gold standard, pointed out Supervisor Adams.
“The ASPCA doesn’t do law enforcement, we do,” said Sheriff Krapf.
“I don’t know why the ASPCA is opposed,” said Linda Guntert. The NY Humane Society and other organizations support registries, both Gunterts said.
Getting a pet “should be a burden,” said Sheriff Krapf. “It’s lives we’re talking about.”
Now without a registry, Everlasting Hope checks potential adopters via unofficial channels, like the social media platform Hudson Valley Do Not Adopt, Wendy Guntert said. If they see something about a potential client, they read it, and decide for themselves whether it is worth heeding. Everlasting Hope also gets reports from neighbors about people with observed, alleged, or known past animal abuse. Likewise, it shares what information it has with other sources of animals for people.
Despite her opposition to the registry, Ms. Houghtling said, “I want to thank the animal advocates here. Anything we can do to protect animals.”
Under the proposed law, although when a court convicts a person of animal abuse, the prosecuting agency shall forward to the Sheriff’s Office the name, address, and conviction details of that person, that person will still have to register at the Sheriff’s Office to keep the information up to date, as well as updating any address change when it occurs.
