As part of the Wednesday, July 21st meeting of Greene County Legislature, Local Law No. 2 of 2021 – Establishing A County-Wide Animal Abuse Registry was enacted by a vote of 13 – 0 with 1 absent.
This registry falls under the jurisdiction of the Greene County Sheriff’s Office and is viewable online at greenegovernment.com/animal-abuse
Local Law No. 2 of 2021 restricts persons who have been convicted of committing serious animal welfare crimes from owning or living with an animal for a period of fifteen (15) years and to be listed on the Sheriff’s website in order to restrict their ability to obtain an animal.
Any individual convicted of an animal abuse crime after July 21, 2021 and residing in the County of Greene must register with the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, and will appear on this registry.
Any person or entity transferring the ownership of an animal is required to inspect the registry to see if the person obtaining ownership is listed.
“There has been a growing interest in protecting the welfare of animals within the county”, notes Patrick S. Linger – Chairman of the Greene County Legislature. “This new tool will enable all of our residents to easily become aware of animal abuse convictions, and avoid unknowingly providing additional animals to convicted abusers. Our ultimate goal is to have NYS recognize the importance of this registry, and pass legislation to create a Statewide registry”
Local and regional animal advocacy and rescue organizations applaud this action which was spearheaded by Greene County resident Jamie Hyer-Mitchell and Hyer Ground Rescue whose mission is to increase awareness through advocacy and educating the public on NYS Animal Cruelty Laws. “I’m very encouraged with my experience working with the Legislature on this new Local Law” says Hyer-Mitchell. “Their support and recognition of the importance of this issue is evidenced by how quickly they enacted it”
Greene County has created a new website landing page specifically for this online database, as well as for those seeking to find rescue and animal advocacy organizations. The web page will also be accessible from the Greene County Sheriff’s Office mobile app available at the App Store or on Google Play.
“Our goal for this new registry is two-fold” says Sheriff Pete Kusminsky. “To provide the Sheriff’s Office with an efficient way to communicate the identities of offenders to our residents, and to create an online resource for anyone transferring the ownership of an animal.”
