For the first time in 13 years, Kentucky does not rank as the worst state for animal protection laws. That is according to the annual U.S. State Animal Protection Laws Rankings Report published by the Animal Legal Defense Fund, the nation’s preeminent legal advocacy organization for animals.
Instead, Mississippi now ranks 50th with the country’s weakest animal protection laws.
The longest-running and most authoritative report of its kind, the 14th annual year-end report (2019) Rankings Report assesses the relative strengths and weaknesses of each U.S. state’s and territory’s animal protection laws and ranks them accordingly.
Mississippi is followed by Iowa (49), New Mexico (48), Kentucky (47), and Wyoming (46) rounding out states with the weakest animal protection laws. For the 13th year in a row, Illinois takes first place with the strongest state animal protection laws — followed by Oregon (2), Colorado (3), Maine (4), and Rhode Island (5).
Kentucky rose to 47th place this year due to its new law criminalizing the sexual abuse of animals. Before this legislation, Kentucky was one of five states that still did not prohibit bestiality. Kentucky’s new law has extensive sentencing provisions, requiring convicted offenders to undergo mental health evaluation and treatment, and prohibiting offenders from owning or possessing an animal for at least five years.
Although no longer last, Kentucky still has a long way to go before animals are afforded the protections they deserve. For example, Kentucky remains the only state that prohibits veterinarians from reporting suspected animal cruelty.
Mississippi, which last year ranked 49th, has now dropped to last place. Mississippi’s animal cruelty laws offer fragmented protections, most of which are limited to certain species. For example, Mississippi’s laws concerning pre-conviction forfeiture and provisions of costs of care (which are crucial in many cruelty cases) are limited to dogs, cats, horses, and “exotic” animals.
Similarly, Mississippi only requires that proper shelter be afforded to dogs and cats, and only offenders who have been convicted of cruelty to dogs or cats may be sentenced to psychological counseling. Finally, Mississippi’s penalties for violating its cruelty laws are severely limited; even torture of an animal is a misdemeanor on the first offense.
Trends highlighted in the Rankings Report include possession bans and animal fighting paraphernalia laws. Possession bans are post-conviction remedies that allow courts to prohibit convicted animal abusers from owning or living in the same household as an animal. This is a continuing trend, and 12 states have created or strengthened their possession ban statutes over the past two years.
A new trend this year was the emergence of animal fighting paraphernalia laws, which define and criminalize the possession of objects and instruments used to further animal fighting ventures. In 2019, four states adopted animal fighting paraphernalia laws.
“The Animal Legal Defense Fund’s annual ranking report highlights the disparity in our animal protection laws from state to state,” said Animal Legal Defense Fund Executive Director Stephen Wells. “Few people know what animal protections laws exist in their state, and can be very surprised when tragedy strikes — and an animal is hurt or killed — and there are no laws to ensure justice for that animal.”
The U.S. Animal Protection State Laws Rankings Report lays out a clear path forward — for all jurisdictions — to strengthen legislation.
The rankings are based on a comprehensive review of each jurisdiction’s animal protection laws including over 3,000 pages of statutes. This is the longest-running and most authoritative report of its kind, and tracks which states are prioritizing animal protection and working to improve their laws.
The full report, including details about each state, is available here.
From Animal Legal Defense Fund
In other words, Kentucky has dropped from being the worst state in the US for its animal protection regulations (NUMBER 1) to fourth worst (NUMBER 4). What an accomplishment!! Oh well, “At least we’re behind Mississippi.” How many times have I heard that statement!
Depends on how you use statistics.