Establishes An Animal Abuser Registry

They Did It Once. The Law Let Them Do It Again.

In April 2025, the owner of a kennel in Bedford, New York was arrested for animal cruelty — for the second time. Investigators found severely neglected and mistreated animals in her care. Despite her prior conviction, she had continued operating a licensed pet business without any barrier, any flag, any check.

No one had stopped her. Because there was nothing in place to stop her.

Assembly Bill A10119 and Senate Bill S8084A would change that.

The Gap in New York Law

Right now, New York State does not require background checks for individuals applying for a pet dealer or breeder license. There is no central database of animal abusers. Shelters, breeders, and pet stores have no reliable way to know if the person adopting an animal, applying for a job, or buying a puppy has a history of cruelty.

The result is entirely predictable. Known abusers cycle back into contact with animals. They open kennels. They run shelters. They buy pets. And vulnerable animals — who cannot speak, cannot report, cannot protect themselves — pay the price.

What These Bills Would Create

An Animal Abuser Registry — public, searchable, and enforceable.

Anyone convicted of an animal cruelty offense in New York (or a comparable offense in another state) would be required to register with their county sheriff, providing:

• Full legal name and any aliases

• Current address and place of employment

• Photo and fingerprints

• Details of their conviction

This information — minus their Social Security number — would be available to the public online, by phone, and in person, maintained by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services.

Registration would last seven years from conviction or release. A second offense means lifetime registration.

Failure to register, or providing false information, would be a Class E felony.

Keeping Abusers Away from Animals

The registry is not just a list. It has teeth.

Under the companion Senate bill, no one on the registry could obtain or renew a pet dealer, breeder, or animal shelter license. Background checks against the registry would be mandatory for all applicants. The person who hurt animals once cannot legally be put in charge of more.

Within ten days of registration, local shelters, rescues, humane societies, schools, and businesses within a half-mile of an abuser's address would be notified directly by the county sheriff.

Stronger Punishments for the Worst Offenses

The bills also raise the ceiling on criminal penalties:

• Animal fighting: maximum sentence increases from 4 to 7 years

• Aggravated cruelty to animals: maximum increases from 2 to 7 years, with fines up to $20,000

• Standard animal cruelty misdemeanor: now carries a defined penalty of up to 364 days and an $850 fine

The message is clear: harming animals is not a minor matter to be shrugged off with a small fine. It is a serious crime with serious consequences.

Why This Is About More Than Animals

Research consistently links animal abuse to other forms of violence — domestic abuse, child abuse, and broader patterns of coercive harm. When someone demonstrates the capacity to torture a creature that cannot fight back or call for help, that is not an isolated warning sign. It is a pattern.

A publicly accessible registry protects animals. It also protects families, neighbors, and communities.

New York has a sex offender registry. It has a domestic violence registry. The animals who live among us — trusting, dependent, voiceless — deserve the same protection from the people who have already shown what they are capable of.

This bill makes that possible.