Columbia County to revote on animal abuse registry

HUDSON, N.Y. (NEWS10) -In a 16-7 vote, the Columbia County Board of Supervisors has denied the creation of an animal abuse registry. Chairman Matt Murell says the attempt to better hold animal abusers accountable has been ongoing for three years.

The Board of Supervisors voted down the local law last Wednesday. It would have started a list of residents convicted of domestic animal abuse. Murell says issues with the filing of the law, such as having the wrong contact information, kept it from passing. "There was some technical issues with the local law which we can rectify and which we will rectify moving forward."

Domestic animals such as dogs, cats, and birds would be protected. These animals are also called companion animals, as any animal considered a pet may fall under this category. Local animal advocates explain that farm animals, which can overlap as companions, should also be protected by the law.

"A farm animal is any horse, dog, cattle, or any other animal that's raised for commercial or subsistence purposes. Like, if your horse is your pet, it's not being used for racing. That would be considered a companion animal," explained Susan McDonough, Committee for Cruelty Investigations for the NYS Humane Association.

And if farm animals are included, advocates argue it can be beneficial for rural Columbia communities. "These are laws that can protect a farmer if someone does something to his animals and put that person on the registry. We know they're not going to have animals any longer certainly in this county," described Ron Perez, President of the Columbia-Greene Humane Society.

Chairman Murell only listed dogs, cats, and birds because he says farm animals are overseen by the State Department of Agriculture and Markets. "That's their purview. It's not really our purview."

The Board plans to vote again at the August public safety meeting. If the law passes with technical changes, it will then go to September's full Board of Supervisors meeting.