It's Past Time for a National Animal Abuse Registry

Every year, countless animals suffer from horrific cruelty. Because the United States lacks a centralized system to track convicted animal abusers, dangerous individuals can easily cross city or state lines to exploit shelters and find new victims.

The critical need for a centralized database was tragically highlighted by a recent case in Virginia, where a man used fake identities to adopt at least 26 cats from local rescues. Instead of providing a safe home, he tortured the animals and used their suffering to run an online fraud scheme to obtain donations. While he was ultimately caught and sentenced to 15 years in prison, shelters lacked a basic registry that could have saved those innocent lives.

We must close these dangerous gaps. A federal animal abuse registry would provide shelters and rescues with the information they need to ensure their animals go to a safe home.

Sign this petition to demand that Congress establish a comprehensive, nationwide animal abuse registry.