Maryland lawmaker will consider a new bill designed to crack down on people who abuse animals.
Frederick Sen. Ron Young has introduced a measure that would toughen current laws. It would also create a registry of animal abusers similar to registries for sex offenders.
Animal abusers would be fingerprinted and their photographs would go into a data base that could be reviewed by the public online. There’s hope that if this information is made public it would help prevent future abuse.
One animal advocacy group, Maryland Votes for Animals, said Maryland ranks 36th out of all 50 states when it comes to laws that protect animals from abuse and neglect.
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