Animal abuse offender registry efforts move forward in the metro

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - An effort to create an animal abuse offender registry is moving forward in Metro Louisville.

Wednesday the Metro Council public safety committee voted to send the ordinance to the full council.

Anyone convicted of animal abuse would be placed on the registry for two years and would not be able to adopt a shelter pet or purchase an animal from a pet store.

Louisville Republican Kevin Bratcher sponsored a bill to create a statewide registry in this year’s General Assembly but it didn’t even get a hearing. Bratcher said it was unpopular with rural legislators.

With Kentucky’s animal protection laws among the worst in the country, Bratcher said Louisville needs this registry.

“We had a cat killed the other day by a guy with a golf club, beaten to death you know,” Bratcher said. “We don’t want that guy ever having another cat or dog, or going to a shelter ever again - in my opinion. And you go to the marketplace to buy pets, usually, and it’d be a great thing for someone to be able to look up on this website, just two seconds."

Just this week Governor Matt Bevin signed a law that makes it illegal to have sex with animals in Kentucky. The Commonwealth was one of the last states where bestiality was legal.