The spread of COVID-19 has confined many of us to our homes. Afterall, it is the best way to slow community spread. While we fight this pandemic by staying inside, many people are using their newfound excess of time at home to help in other ways -- like fostering or adopting animals. Animal shelters have seen an absolute tidal wave of foster applications from folks willing to offer their time and shelter to furry friends in need, and the populations of dogs and cats in shelters has plummeted. This is definitely something to celebrate!
More great news came for animals in April 2020, specifically in Kentucky, when the state finally removed the
antiquated restrictions that actually made it illegal for veterinarians to report animal abuse that they observed. That's right --
before this, a vet trying to shield animals from harm would be breaking the law! This is huge news, especially for a state that had previously been
ranked the worst state for animal protection laws in the United States until, in 2019, it climbed to the 47th spot. Now that veterinarians are free to report abuse, that will save countless animals from lives of mistreatment or even violent deaths.
But ranking 47th out of 50 states for animal protection laws is nothing to brag about. Kentucky still needs to do better.
Please sign the petition and demand that Kentucky require veterinarians to report abuse -- in other words, make them mandatory reporters!Similar requirements already exist in 20 other states, which prevent any pets from slipping through the cracks.
Such laws are now more important than ever. This pandemic has already caused reports of domestic abuse to
skyrocket. Families are in lockdown, and the ways out the victims once had have vanished. And numerous studies have already shown that domestic abuse is often linked to animal abuse -- that perpetrators of assault frequently begin their reigns of cruelty by targeting pets first. Now that dogs and cats are being placed in homes at a higher rate than ever before, the potential for abuse is astronomical.
Let's call on Kentucky to make this critical time their moment of change. They must do better for our pets by bolstering their animal protection laws.
Sign the petition and demand that they start by making vets statewide mandatory reporters of animal abuse!