North Carolina’s Senate Bill 209 aims to establish an animal-welfare hotline and website within the state attorney general’s office as well as a court fee to support the investigation of animal-cruelty violations. The AKC supports this bill and AKC Government Relations sees the proposed law as an important step in safeguarding the health and welfare of all dogs in the state.
Introduced in March by state senators Trudy Wade, DVM, Bill Rabon, DVM, and Andrew Brock, SB 209 would allow individuals to report any act of animal cruelty or violation of the state’s Animal Welfare Act directly to the attorney general. These reports would be investigated and forwarded to local law enforcement and the appropriate state agencies. The bill also provides resources to help local communities offset the costs of enforcing cruelty laws.
Thankfully, animal cruelty is a felony in North Carolina. SB 209 focuses on enforcing existing cruelty laws and ensuring the well-being of all dogs — regardless of how many dogs the owner has. The AKC supports full enforcement of this law and additional resources as necessary.
“Protecting the health and well-being of dogs and educating about responsible dog ownership is at the core of everything the AKC does, and this is why we support Senate Bill 209. The hotline will provide North Carolinians the ability to report animal cruelty and neglect violations wherever and whenever they are seen,” says AKC Government Relations Director Sheila Goffe. “We thank senators Wade, Rabon, and Brock for introducing this important bill to help North Carolina officials, law enforcement, and residents to work together to stop any instance of animal cruelty in our state.”