Bills Would Require Background Screening Before Pet Adoptions

Municipal and private animal shelters would be required to conduct background checks before adoptions can take place under a pair of bills moving through the Michigan Legislature. (Photo by Dave Cooper / Flickr)

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People who want to adopt pets through animal shelters would be subject to background checks under a pair of anti-animal abuse bills approved nearly unanimously in committee Tuesday and now moving to the full Michigan House of Representatives for consideration.

The Associated Press reports the proposed legislation would give municipal animal control shelters and private shelters the right to deny adoptions to anyone convicted of animal abuse within the past five years.

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If an animal abuse conviction – which could include everything from neglect or cruelty to using animals for fighting – occurred within more than five years of the proposed adoption, it could still be denied.

Similar legislation has been proposed in the past. In 2013, a proposal that would have made Michigan the first state to establish an animal-abuse registry, which would have operated much like sex-offender registries, was dropped.

The so-called “Logan’s Law,” named after a Siberian husky that died after having acid thrown in his face while he was caged in a backyard kennel, died after lawmakers raised concerns about the cost of the registry.

Tell Us:

• What are the pros and cons of requiring background checks before pet adoptions can take place?