Thanks to Delegate David Moon and Senator William Colonel Smith Jr. for sponsoring Animal Cruelty – Sentencing Conditions – HB 212/ SB 1038. Both of these identical bills, one filed in each chamber, passed with unanimous support. The bills allow judges to order, as a condition of sentencing for aggravated animal cruelty, that a convicted animal abuser cannot own, possess, or reside with animals for a specified period of time.
Currently, 26 states have restrictions that can be imposed by the court on convicted animal abusers prohibiting them from owning or possessing animals. That list of states includes all of Maryland’s neighbors, including Delaware, Virginia, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and West Virginia.
We are proud to have worked on this important legislation that will enable judges in Maryland utilize these restrictions in cases involving animal cruelty. #stopthecycle #protectthevoiceless