Tennessee Leading the Way in Animal Abuse Accountability

At the beginning of 2016, Tennessee became the first state to implement an animal abuse registry. This registry, available to the public online, will list anybody convicted of committing an animal abuse offense. This list will host people convicted of crimes after January 1. Those responsible for passing the law hope to prevent future cases of animal cruelty, as well as better screen people during adoptions. Concurrently, the FBI began tracking animal abuse as a Group A felony, which has placed it in the same category as homicide and assault. — Dylan Turner