New South Wales, Australia, recently implemented laws to ban anyone who has abused an animal from ever owning or working with another animal. I've started this petition to get the Victorian state government to follow suit but with some additional stronger laws, as detailed below.

 

Please sign this petition no matter where you live in the world, as your voice matters to those who have no voice, the animals. 

 

Thank you,

Ros Jenner

 

Dear Ms Mary-Anne Thomas MP, Minister for Agriculture,

 

NSW has recently implemented laws to ban people charged with animal abuse from ever owning or working with another animal. It is the first state in Australia to implement such laws, which follows other changes to cruelty laws such as jail time and fines of up to $110,000. 

 

I have started this petition to ask your government to implement similar laws, but with additions.

 

1. I would like Victoria to be the second state to implement laws to ban anyone who has abused an animal from ever owning or working with an animal again. 

 

2. Victoria should lead the country and have a register of animal abusers, similar to the sex offenders register, so anyone selling an animal can access this register and see if the person they're selling to is on this register. 

 

4. Like NSW, animal abusers should get jail time, however, I would like the sentences to reflect the heinous nature of their crimes. There should be a mandatory minimum of five years for any deliberate animal neglect, and abuse should carry a seven year sentence. These sentences need to be long to not only deter people from abusing animals, but also because it is widely accepted that people who abuse animals often move on to abusing people. So these people need to be placed on a register and jailed so they can be given psychological interventions.

 

5. Again like NSW, people who abuse animals need to be fined, however I do not believe $110,000 is enough of a deterrent to others who abuse animals. I believe the fines should be at least double, if not triple, that amount. The fines need to be a severe deterrent to people. Also, if people claim they cannot pay, jail and community service should not be an alternative. Jail should be an accepted addition to the fines. Then once they are released, if they are on job seeker, they have those payments garnished to repay the fine. If they get a job, they get their wages garnished to repay the fine. So there is no escaping repaying the fine.

 

I have developed this petition to show your office how many people feel strongly about implementation of animal abuse laws in this state, in this country, and in this world, as there are people who have signed this petition from outside Victoria and outside Australia. 

 

Please be a leader like NSW and implement similar but better laws, and let's help stop people from repeatedly being given the opportunity to abuse animals. These laws should have been implemented many years ago, however we cannot turn back time, so let's do what we can do now.

 

Thank you for your time.

 

Yours faithfully,

Ros Jenner