Suffolk County animal abusers will now face jail time or steep fines if they continue to have pets, according to a new law signed last week — after a local cat house of horrors was uncovered.
The county legislature voted to make pet-owning by convicted animal abusers a Class A misdemeanor, a crime that carries penalties of up to a year in jail or a $1,000 fine.
“This bill will protect animals, and that’s why I’m signing it,” Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine told reporters at the H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge last week.
“We have an obligation to care for our pets and our animals,” Romaine said.
Suffolk already required convicted animal abusers to add their name and contact information to a registry. It became the first county in the country to do so in 2010.
The Suffolk County Police Department and district attorney’s office are in charge of maintaining the registry, which currently lists 30 people, according to the county’s website.
Offenders remain on the registry for 10 years unless they’re convicted of another animal-related crime, in which case the clock resets.
Having your name on the list already meant you could no longer own a pet — but until now, there was no real punishment for breaking that rule, said Suffolk Legislator Stephanie Bontempi, who sponsored the legislation.
“We’ve closed the loophole,” Bontempi said at the event, “It’s something that shouldn’t even be an issue, but I’m glad we were able to get this legislation on the books.”
Bontempi told reporters that the loophole first came to her attention after a 2022 cyberattack on the county that temporarily took down the registry.
The new law was signed just a few days after about 100 dead cats were discovered in a Bohemia animal house of horrors — with two dozen felines found in the freezer and the remains of kittens in old cat-food boxes.
Suffolk County SPCA Chief Roy Gross said he was “beyond excited” to see the law finally pass after years of fighting for stricter penalties.
“For the first time, we actually have the power to take action against repeat offenders — before, our hands were tied,” he told Newsday.
The legislation is the latest move by the county to crack down on animal cruelty.
In January, Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney rolled out “Operation Bloodhound” — a joint effort between his office and the county’s Police Warrant Squad to track down defendants charged with animal cruelty or neglect who skipped court or jumped bail.
The latest initiative builds on the county’s creation of the Biological, Environmental and Animal Safety Team — or BEAST unit — launched three years ago to ensure animal-abuse cases are followed through and repeat offenders are held accountable.
“Do not abuse animals.” Romaine said. “We will go after you, and we will prosecute you, and we will protect our animals.”
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