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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