A new ballot initiative wants to create a registry of convicted animal abusers. If it gathers enough signatures, voters could see the proposal on their ballot in 2024.
The Protect MI Pet ballot initiative seeks to hold people accountable for mistreating or abusing animals. Currently, an instance of animal cruelty can involve a misdemeanor charge, up to ninety-three days in jail, a hefty fine, and community service.
Genessee County Sheriff Christopher Swanson doesn't think the law does enough to prevent abuse from happening again. He says the initiative would change the state constitution to keep animals who may be experiencing abuse away from those owners.
"The second thing is when someone is convicted of an animal abuse crime, they are now going to be put on the registry should people vote for it, that now everybody can search if they're going to adopt an animal, service somebody."
The initiative needs to collect more than 400,000 signatures to appear on the November 2024 ballot.