Recent advances in animal rights

All 50 states have established laws that make cruelty against animals a criminal act. However, the strength and comprehensiveness of animal cruelty laws (also known as animal protection laws) vary considerably between states. These differences are outlined in depth in the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Animal Protection Laws Rankings Report. The longest-running and most authoritative report of its kind, its object is to assess each state’s animal protection laws and, based on these assessments, to rank states according to the strength of their protection laws.

The most recently published report, which looked at data from 2017, presented a number of positive developments. Here are a few:

• More than half of all states showed significant improvement in their animal protection laws in the course of the last five years. The advancements came in numerous areas, including stiffer penalties for offenders, more rigorous standards of care for animals and banning animal ownership following cruelty convictions.

• There was a trend in laws aimed at preventing animals from dying in hot cars. In seven states, immunity laws were passed, ensuring that people who rescue animals from vehicles in emergency situations don’t face lawsuits. More than 25 states now have some type of “hot car” law on the books.

• In the rankings, Illinois took top spot for the tenth year in a row, while Pennsylvania showed the most improvement, jumping 20 places in the rankings to number 24 thanks to progressive new legislation, which, among other things, granted civil immunity to veterinarians who report suspected animal abuse.

For more information on animal protection laws and for opportunities to get involved in the advancement of animal rights, visit the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s website at aldf.org.