Livingston County board adopts local law to create animal-abuser registry

The Livingston County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday adopted a local law establishing an animal-abuser registry that will require county residents convicted of certain animal-abuse offenses to register with the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office.

The registry, as described during the public hearing, will be maintained online and linked from the sheriff’s website to allow animal shelters, farms, pet sellers and other members of the public to identify people convicted of qualifying offenses. "This local law establishes an animal abuser registry in Livingston County," the presenter said during the hearing.

Supporters said the registry would help prevent convicted abusers from gaining access to animals and would be a resource for agencies that place animals. A board member also told colleagues the idea is part of an initiative being promoted through the New York State Association of Counties and urged local supervisors to support the measure.

The board closed the public hearing on the local law and approved the measure by roll-call vote; the clerk recorded the motion as adopted in the meeting record. The law sets out which convictions qualify for the registry and provides a registration process with penalties for noncompliance, as explained during the public hearing.

The county sheriff’s office will host the registry on its website and include links to other counties’ animal-abuser registries. The board left open the ability for future amendment and directed that the standard public process—committee review and public resolution—apply to any specific transactions or implementations that follow.

The law takes effect according to standard local-law procedures; the transcript does not specify an effective date or whether a permissive referendum will apply to this particular local law.