The Daily Delegate

Katie Dusek
Forum Media

According to Humanesociety.org, an estimated 10 million animals die from abuse or cruelty every year in the U.S. Our forum group, advocating for Animal Rights, can start taking a step away from these statistics starting in California. Our bill states that the California adoption process in shelters will be required to have more regulations on pet adoption, specifically for people convicted of domestic and or substance abuse. The bill starts with a mandatory background check on a person’s criminal history. Shelters would be specifically looking for past offenders on any sort of recorded abuse. If the check is passed, the normal California adoption protocol will be continued. If the background check is not cleared extra steps will have to be followed in order to proceed. 

Depending on the gravity of the crime or how recently said crime was committed they will be denied immediately and asked to file for adoption in later years in order to prove that they can and will correctly care for an animal. If enough years have passed, or the severity of the crime committed is low enough to be believed they can properly care for an animal, they will be taken to the next step, which involves a form. This form will provide the needed information to prove that they will be able to provide for and rightly care for an animal. If this form is not passed they will be prohibited from adopting and asked to return at a later time. If this form is passed, as well as all the other steps previously listed they will be allowed to proceed and follow normal adoption protocol. In Michigan, December 15th 2016 a law similar to our bill was passed known as Logan’s Law. Logan’s Laws allows shelters to perform criminal background checks on those who wish to adopt an animal. Shelters may choose to deny an animal to a person who has been convicted of animal abuse within the past five years. By implementing Forum’s Animal rights bill California would be taking a step forward in helping to prevent animals from falling into abuser’s hands.