140 Signatures — Now We’re Taking This to the Next Level
We’ve reached more than 140 signatures — and I want everyone who has signed, shared, or spoken up to know what’s happening next.
My original Nextdoor post about this issue has now been viewed more than 6,000 times, and the post specifically sharing this petition has reached more than 1,000 people.
But I don’t want this to end with numbers on a screen.
I started this petition because I believe someone convicted of serious or repeated animal cruelty should not simply be able to get another animal and create another victim.
Since launching it, I’ve started researching previous attempts to address this problem — including Missouri legislation that repeatedly tried to create an animal-abuser registry.
That research raised an important question:
What if a public registry isn’t actually the strongest solution?
I’m now exploring whether a more effective approach would focus on mandatory animal-possession bans for people convicted of serious or repeated cruelty, backed by a national system that could help shelters, rescues, law enforcement, breeders, and other appropriate organizations identify people who are legally prohibited from acquiring animals.
I’ve already reached out to the Animal Justice League of America to learn from its experience working on this issue, and I contacted Missouri Representative Jo Doll, who sponsored animal-abuse legislation this year, to ask what prevented those efforts from advancing and what she believes should be done differently.
Next, I’ll be reaching out to national animal-law organizations and my congressional representative as I work to determine what a serious federal proposal could actually look like.
This is becoming bigger than the petition I originally posted — and that is exactly what I hoped would happen.
If you signed, thank you.
Now I’m asking you to do one more thing:
Please share this petition with three people who believe someone who has already seriously abused an animal should not simply be handed another victim.
Every signature helps demonstrate that people want more than outrage after abuse happens.
We want prevention.
Petition: https://c.org/8Cph75vrkk