Community Corner
J-School Project: Suffolk Animal Abusers on File
In Amanda Marzullo's senior project, she details how Suffolk County is trying to combat animal abuse.
When officials from the Suffolk County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals came upon a Doberman Pinscher mix in an abandoned house, it weighed just 17 pounds. Not long after that, the SPCA drew up Justin's Law, which was passed in October 2010. With it, Suffolk County began building the first animal abuser registry in the country.
The database is named for Justin, the Doberman who was saved "just in time," having plummeted to just 17 pounds when they found him. He's now a healthy 55 pounds. The database is accessible and searchable for the public, and it covers everything from barking dogs to cases of malnourishment and hoarding.
The Animal Defense Fund has followed Suffolk's lead, having launched the Expose Animal Abusers campaign last year. According to Marzullo's report, more than 50,000 people have signed the campaign's online petition, which calls for more animal abuser registries.
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Read Marzullo's complete project by visiting her website.
