2007 State Animal Protection Laws RankingsNovember 13th, 2007
The Animal Legal Defense Fund announces the release of its second annual report ranking every state and the District of Columbia on the relative strength and general comprehensiveness of their animal protection laws. This report, the only one of its kind in the nation, is based on a detailed comparative analysis of the animal protection laws of each jurisdiction, researching fourteen distinct categories of provisions throughout more than 2,800 pages of statutes. The ranking groups states into a top, middle or bottom tier, and includes a listing of the best five and worst five states. "We saw some significant gains by a number of states this year. However, there are still important areas for improvement in every state’s laws, even for those states currently ranked in the top tier," says Stephan Otto, Animal Legal Defense Fund's director of legislative affairs and author of the report. "It is our hope that this report will help draw attention both to the states who are leading the country with their strong animal protection laws, as well as to those states at the lower end of the rankings – states with laws that are plainly incapable of adequately protecting animals. Animals do not vote, but those who love and care about them do, so we encourage lawmakers to take notice and work on improving these vital laws."
Please contact your elected officials and encourage them to support improvements to the laws that protect animals. For additional information, see Model Animal Protection Laws collection and Animal Protection Laws of the USA & Canada compendium. Download the full report (PDF) Download the state rankings map
2007 State Animal Protection Laws Rankings Comparing Overall Strength & Comprehensiveness
Best Five
California, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Oregon
Worst Five
Arkansas, Alaska, Kentucky, North Dakota, Utah
Top Tier
California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Kansas Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Vermont, Virginia
Middle Tier
Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Oklahoma, Ohio, South Carolina
Bottom Tier
Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wyoming
1 comment:
It was great to see that Georgia was not on the bottom of the list. I don't see where all of this is good or bad. Check out what is happening to Cal. law as it relates to pets and people. These laws are getting tighter and peoples rights are getting less. Grace
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