New York Bans Tattoos, Piercings on Pets

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill on Monday prohibiting the unnecessary piercing and tattooing of cats, dogs and all other pets.

“This is animal abuse, pure and simple,” Cuomo said. “I’m proud to sign this common sense legislation and end these cruel and unacceptable practices in New York once and for all.”

The bill was introduced by Assemb. Linda Rosenthal, D-Manhattan, several years ago after she noticed stories about a woman who was selling “gothic kittens” that had piercings on their necks, ears and spines.

In addition, earlier this year, Mistah Metro, a Brooklyn tattoo artist, posted a picture on Instagram of his dog with a heart-shaped tattoo that Metro gave the dog while the dog was under anesthetic from surgery.

“Tattooing and piercing of companion animals serves no purpose other than to satisfy the aesthetic predilections of the owner, and inflicts unnecessary pain on the animal, pain that they cannot understand or contextualize,” Rosenthal said.

The bill allows the use of piercing and tattooing in only limited circumstances, such as ear tags on rabbits, tattoos for identification purposes only, or where the piercing provides a medical benefit to the animal and is performed by or under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian.

A violation of the new law will be punishable by imprisonment for a period not to exceed 15 days and/or a fine of $250. The law will take effect in 120 days.

“While people can decide whether they would like to undergo the pain associated with a tattoo or piercing, animals do not have that luxury,” Rosenthal said.

Photo/Flickr/Creative Commons/Lars Ploughmann

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