Over 48 million households have a dog. Another 32 million have cats. Almost 3.5 million have a bird. No one has good figures for how many people own snakes, lizards or exotic pets like ferrets.
Not everyone takes good care of their pets. Organizations like the ASPCA are built around the problem. Animal cruelty laws can vary widely across the country. Some states have strict laws requiring suspected abusers to be reported to the authorities and convicted abusers to forfeit their animals, while other states have hardly any laws protecting animals on the books at all.
To determine America’s worst state for pets, 24/7 Tempo reviewed the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s U.S. State Animal Protection Laws Ranking Report. Each state was evaluated based on the strength of its animal protection laws. Data on the percentage of households that own pets came from the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Many states have laws that require veterinarians to report suspected animal cruelty, while others have laws that permit veterinarians to report such instances and grant them civil immunity for reports made in good faith. However, some parts of the country have no requirements and offer no protection.
Similarly, some states have laws that require convicted animal abusers to surrender their animals and ban them from acquiring more. Other states leave any forfeitures and bans up to the court’s discretion, while a dozen have no laws addressing the issue whatsoever.
There does not appear to be any strong correlation between any one part of the country and especially strong animal abuse laws. In many cases, some of the best states for animals border some of the worst. Also, the share of pet owners in a state seems to have little bearing on the strength of anti-abuse legislation.
The worst state for pets is New Mexico. Here are the details:
- Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: None
- Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: None
- Households that own pets: 60.1% (23rd highest)