An Illinois House committee is scheduled to consider a bill on Tuesday, March 7, that would allow the court to appoint a “special advocate” to represent the interests of animals during cases that involve the animal’s health, safety, or an injury. The “special advocate” would be a law student.
The AKC abhors any type of negligence or cruelty to animals and supports full enforcement of existing negligence and cruelty laws. However, AKC is concerned that the creation of court-appointed animal advocates will result in legal controversies about who is responsible for an animal, and ultimately impact the ability and rights of pet owners to freely choose the most appropriate course of care and treatment for their pets. In addition, individual owners may be forced to give up their ownership rights to third parties and appointees could force someone to make decisions they do not believe to be in the best interest of their animals.
Another concern is that House Bill 2981 provides advocates akin to guardians ad litem that are traditionally used to protect the interests of minors and other people lacking legal capacity. This would vastly expand the legal interpretation of animals and lead to unintended consequences. Visit AKC’s Legislative Action Center Key Issues page on the Legal Status of Animals for more talking points and information on this issue.
What You Can Do:
All concerned dog owners in Illinois are encouraged to contact the Illinois House Judiciary-Criminal Committee prior to the hearing on Tuesday, March 7, and ask them to oppose House Bill 2981:
Rep. Elgie Sims, Jr. (Chair)
(217) 782-6476
esims@repelgiesims34.com
Rep. Kelly Cassidy (Vice-Chair)
(217) 782-8088
repcassidy@gmail.com
Rep. Brian Stewart
(217) 782-8186
repstewart@gmail.com
Rep. Terri Bryant
(217) 782-0387
staterepterribryant@gmail.com
Rep. John Cabello
(217) 782-0455
Cabello@ilhousegop.org
Rep. Will Guzzardi
(217) 558-1032
will@repguzzardi.com
Rep. Rita Mayfield
(217) 558-1012
60thdistrict@gmail.com
Rep. Christian Mitchell
(217) 782-2023
MitchellDistrict26@att.net
Rep. Elaine Nekritz
(217) 558-1004
enekritz@repnekritz.org
Rep. Lindsay Parkhurst
(217) 782-5981
lindsay@lindsayparkhurst.com
Rep. Justin Slaughter
(217) 782-0010
Fax: (217) 782-1795
Rep. Juliana Stratton
(217) 782-4535
repstratton5@gmail.com
Rep. Barbara Wheeler
(217) 782-1664
wheeler@ilhousegop.org
The AKC Government Relations Department at Illinois Federation of Dog Clubs and Owners are closely monitoring this legislation. For more information, e-mail doglaw@akc.org.