The 2016 Rankings List for the Best and Worst States in the nation for Animal Protection Laws has been published. For the ninth year in a row, Illinois ranks Number 1 while Kentucky remains in last (50th) place for the 10th consecutive year. The Rankings is based on a comprehensive review of each jurisdiction’s animal protection laws including 4,000 pages of statutes. It is the longest-running (11 years) and tracks which states are taking animal protection seriously. It is conducted by the Animal Legal Defense Fund.
The other top four states are Oregon (2), Maine (3) and California (4), and Rhode Island (5.) Kentucky holds steady at fiftieth place for the 10th year in a row, with these four states preceding it: Iowa (49), Wyoming (48), Utah (47), and North Dakota (46) These are the states with the weakest animal protection laws.
Why does Kentucky continue to place last for animal protection laws? According to the ALDF, there aren’t enough laws and the ones on the books are simply not strong enough.
Rhode Island broke into the “Best Five” by passing a new felony animal cruelty provision for first-time offenders, triggered when cruelty results in the animal’s death, and increasing penalties for malicious injury to an animal.
Wisconsin became the most-improved state last year (jumping 14 spots) by passing a comprehensive cost-of-care, mandating reimbursement of the costs of caring for a cruelty treated animals to the caregiving agency prior to the disposition of the case. There are 25 other states which require reimbursement of costs of care after the offender is convicted. Only 16 states require reimbursement prior to, or regardless of, a criminal conviction.
The reports shows more than 3/4 of all states have significantly improved their animal protection laws.
31% of jurisdictions improved 2-10%
9% of jurisdictions improved 11-50%
3% of jurisdictions improved by greater than 50%
“The Animal Legal Defense Fund works year round to strengthen laws, and we are gratified to see that reflected in the Report,” says Animal Legal Defense Fund Executive Director Stephen Wells. “Despite this, there’s still a long way to go in animal protection, and Americans should use the Rankings Report as an indicator of where their home state can improve.”
Other notable changes this year included Michigan’s and Wisconsin’s new provisions to allow pets to be included in protective orders in domestic violence situations, Tennessee’s enactment of the first-ever statewide animal abuser registry, Idaho’s new felony provision for torturing a companion animal, and Maryland’s and Pennsylvania’s new prohibitions on possessing animal fighting paraphernalia. Kentucky showed some progress by strengthening animal fighting statutes, but it was not enough to shake its reputation as the “Worst State” for animal protection laws ten years in a row.
How does your state rank?
ALDF Rankings
ALDF Rankings Report
ALDF Rankings Report
The laws to protect animals still aren’t tough enough to put abusers away for a long time. I’m glad States have improved but we need to go a long way to make a substantial difference in the lives of animals.
Ditto what you said!
Yes, we do. If you live in the state of Pennsylvania, please call your legislators to ask them to support HB 869 which is co-sponsored by Sen. Rich Alloway and Rep. Ryan Bizzarro. This piece of legislation would make certain acts of animal cruelty a felony. PA is one of three states which only makes animal cruelty a misdemeanor. This bill would finally change that.
Thank you.
Missouri should be at the bottom. They’re the worst state for puppy mills. Nothing is done to help them. It’s so vile and disgusting. They deserve to be at the bottom of the heap.
Missouri is bad but so are many other states. It’s a sad reality that too many states aren’t harsh enough against animal abusers. :'(
Missouri is notorious for its puppy mills. Some consider this state to be the puppy mill capital of the entire nation. Each of the bottom tier states needs more and tougher anti-cruelty laws.
Thanks.
I wonder if this includes laws for farm animals the largest group of animals being abused.
I believe it does.
Yes, it does Helena. Thank you for commenting.
New York is near the bottom. Surprise, Surprise! What about the National ASPCA located there? How can they be so low? Because nothing much is done to help the animals at the shelters where too many lose their lives!
Laws need to change drastically in Pennsylvania. They are a joke. You can kill an animal and nothing happens to you. Good ole’ boy mentality. The Amish clearly get away with murder.
Yes, the laws do need to change in Pennsylvania, RR. If you live in the state of Pennsylvania, please call your legislators to ask them to support HB 869 which is co-sponsored by Sen. Rich Alloway and Rep. Ryan Bizzarro. This piece of legislation would make certain acts of animal cruelty a felony. PA is one of three states which only makes animal cruelty a misdemeanor. This bill would make a difference in the lives of animals.
Thank you.
“Despite this, there’s still a long way to go in animal protection, and Americans should use the Rankings Report as an indicator of where their home state can improve.” A very long way to go.
I agree we have a long journey but all of us working toward the greater good of the animals can make a significant impact on their lives. Thank you.
move your ass, Kentucy
Kentucky isn’t a shock to many especially those who live there.
Some of these states don’t belong in their tiers. How did the ALDF come to their conclusions? Something seems off about their results.