Senator Jim Tedisco today is continuing his long-standing efforts to protect people and pets from violence and harm by calling for new public safety legislation to require animal abusers receive psychological evaluations, ban abusers from ever owning a pet again and create a statewide registry of convicted abusers.

Tedisco’s latest effort is in response to a continued wave of shocking animal cruelty cases in our area including a Wilton mother and daughter who were charged with “37 counts of overdriving, torturing, and injuring animals and failure to provide other animals on the property with sustenance.”

Meanwhile, a Canajoharie man has been charged under Buster’s felony animal cruelty law for “allegedly hitting a kitten ‘deliberately’ with his pickup truck.”

Last month, the owner of “A Time for Paws” doggy daycare and boarding facility in Halfmoon was charged under Buster’s felony animal cruelty law with allegedly killing a French bulldog named Gus by leaving him out in the sweltering heat.

“We seem to be witnessing an epidemic of disturbing animal cruelty cases.  The perpetrators who commit these despicable crimes seem to fall into two categories and sometimes a combination thereof:1) those who have serious mental illness and mistakenly think they’re helping the animals and end up engaging in dangerously unsanitary hoarding situations. 2) And then there’s the abusers who are just diabolically evil and take sick pleasure from the suffering of others.  We know from law enforcement, that animal cruelty is a bridge crime and those who would be so dastardly as to harm an animal can, and do go on to harm humans,” said Senator Jim Tedisco.

In cases of animal hoarding like in Wilton, mental illness may play a role. That’s why Senator Tedisco is sponsoring a bill to ensure abusers receive a psychiatric evaluation and ban those convicted of animal cruelty from owning or possessing a companion animal ever again (S.1044).

Senator Tedisco is sponsoring bipartisan legislation to create a statewide registry of animal abusers (S.1563) that contains the names and addresses of persons convicted of animal abuse in New York State. The registry is accessible to the public and those involved in the sale or adoption of an animal (shelters, rescues and breeders) so they can refer to it before allowing an individual to take ownership of an animal.

A holistic statewide registry is important because an animal abuser can just go to a neighboring county that doesn’t have its own registry to get an animal.

For example, if your cat has a litter, you should be able to check a statewide database to ensure the person who is adopting that kitten is not a convicted abuser. With a patchwork of county registries, you will not be able to tell.

Tedisco’s statewide registry bill has the support of the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society and many other shelters and rescues.

Tedisco also is sponsoring a bill to increase penalties for violating “Buster’s Law” from the current two years in jail and a $5,000 fine to four years in prison and a $10,000 fine (S.1205),

Senator Tedisco was the driving force behind passage of the landmark Buster’s Law creating the felony category of "aggravated cruelty to animals," punishable by up to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

The FBI has animal cruelty as a top tier Group A offense in its crime reporting statistics due to it being a bridge crime. 

“Remember, having and working with a companion animal is not a right, it’s a privilege, but our pets and people have a right to be safe from abuse and neglect. We have an obligation as a government to protect all members of our family, including those who have no voice,” said Senator Tedisco.