Target: Glenn Youngkin, Governor of Virginia
Goal: Support creation of mandatory statewide animal abuse and cruelty registry.
A Virginia man was sentenced to nearly four years of incarceration following charges of reckless handling of a firearm and animal cruelty. Both charges involved the fatal shooting of Max, an eight-year-old dog. Max was the companion dog of suspect Sean Nikai Callender’s girlfriend. Callender allegedly took anger at his girlfriend out on her dog, shooting and killing Max after the girlfriend left her home following an argument.
Callender’s incarceration could and should put him on an animal cruelty registry. Such registries publicly identify individuals convicted of animal cruelty that rises to the felony level. Virginia recently passed a law that enables these registries to be posted on a town or city’s website. The publication of the registration, however, is optional and at the discretion of the locality.
A stricter bill first introduced several years ago would require a registry and require notification of the convict’s presence to anyone or any business located within half a mile of the convicted abuser. In this version of the bill, the state would also keep a centralized statewide animal abuse registry on its website. Sign the petition below to urge lawmakers to adopt these stricter safeguards against repeat animal cruelty.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Governor Youngkin,
We are writing to urge you to support passing a bill to require that animal abuse registries be made publicly available to anyone within half a mile of a convicted abuser. While the optional adoption of local animal abuse registries is a step in the right direction, the existing law would put the onus for funding and establishing these registries on local regions. Due to the time and costs associated, many regions will likely opt out of providing an important service for pet owners and for the public at large. Animal cruelty is a crime with notoriously high recidivism rates, and it is also a well-documented “gateway” to offenses against humans.
Please give the registry a chance to succeed by making it a mandatory and statewide effort with full backing and funding from lawmakers. The comprehensive Animal Abuser Registry first envisioned in 2011 must finally have its moment to make a real difference.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Bilal Findikci
