According to ABC 12 News in Lansing, Michigan, Lt. Governor Brian Calley recently signed a bill, known as Logan’s Law, that will allow Michigan animal shelters to perform background checks on those interested in adopting pets from Michigan shelters. The reason for the checks is to determine if the candidates have any past history of animal abuse.
Edith Campbell, Program Coordinator of Pets In Peril, hopes that this will help animals being placed in the wrong hands. She explained, “If we did more of that – Some people don’t like it that are adopting – oh you’re being too fussy, but …. We’ve gotta make it last. We don’t want the dog to come back and we don’t want it to have any more suffering that he had in the background. So it’s not gonna totally do it, but it’s gonna help if everybody did it.”
ABC 12 goes on to explain that according to the bill, animal shelters will be authorized, but not required, to perform background checks on potential animal adopters. Initially, the bill suggested that criminal background checks be mandatory, but later that was changed to voluntary.
Finally, the bill also allows a state agency to write rules establishing minimum standards for large-scale dog breeding kennels and the housing, care and handling of animals. People will not be able to operate a large-scale dog breeding kennel unless they register the business by paying the state $500 annually.
The idea of having an animal abuser registry list started after an attack on a Siberian husky named Logan. The attack happened on March 12, 2012. For more on Logan’s story and how the idea of the bill came to be, visit the article at UpNorthLive.com.
