NJ Ranks #2 For Humane State Ranking for Pets

Dr. Stobie, stumbled along this NEW information! Looks like when it comes to protecting animal rights NJ is doing pretty good..

WASHINGTON ―The Humane Society of the United States, the nation’s largest
animal protection organization, has released its first “Humane State
Ranking,” a comprehensive report rating all 50 states on a wide range of
animal protection laws dealing with pets, animal cruelty and fighting,
wildlife, animals in research, horses, and farm animals.

At the top of the list is California, which has strong laws in 45 of the 65
categories ranked: protecting pets from antifreeze poisoning and continuous
chaining; prohibiting steel-jawed leghold traps, horse slaughter
and mountain lion trophy hunting; and protecting farm animals from extreme
confinement and tail-docking. New Jersey comes in second place, with strong
laws on animal fighting, fur labeling, and alternatives to animal testing.
Tied for third place are Colorado, Maine and Massachusetts.

“This comprehensive look at state policies related to a wide range of
animal protection concerns reveals that the trends are positive, but there
are major gaps in the law throughout the nation,” said Wayne Pacelle,
president and CEO of The HSUS. “Anemic animal protection laws in many
states will allow cruelty and abuse to continue, and that must change.”  In
2009, The HSUS helped pass 121 new state animal protection laws.

At the bottom of the list, the states with the weakest animal protection
laws are Alabama, Hawaii, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio
and South Dakota, with South Dakota ranking last with a score of 8 out of
65. Idaho, Mississippi, North Dakota and South Dakota got low marks in part
because they are the only four states in the country with no felony penalty
for egregious acts of animal cruelty. Alabama, Hawaii, Idaho, Mississippi,
North Dakota, Ohio and South Dakota are also among the 11 states that do
not have felony-level penalties for cockfighting.

The ranking was based on 65 different animal protection issues in 10 major
animal protection categories including: animal fighting; animal cruelty;
puppy mills; use of animals in research; equine protection; wildlife abuse;
factory farming; fur and trapping; exotic animals; and companion animal
laws.

To see rankings for states Alabama-Missouri, please click here. To see
Montana-Wyoming, please click here. To see total scores, please click here.

http://www.humanesociety.org/news/press_releases/2010/02/humane_state_rankings_020810.html