Senate to take up legislation removing breed restrictions from consideration in DCF foster placements
All good pups can be a family's best friend, regardless
of breed
(BOSTON—9/25/2024) On Thursday September 26, the
Massachusetts Senate will take up legislation to ensure families can
foster a child regardless of the breed of dog in the foster home.
Under the new law, the Department of Children and Families
would consider factors such as a pet's history of dangerous behavior and
their health records, instead of a pet's breed. Currently, a family who is
thinking of adopting cannot do so if they own breeds including Rottweilers,
Pit Bulls, German Shepherds, or a dog which mixes at least two of these
three breeds.
According to the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, a
dog's breed is a poor predictor of behavior, and is uninformative with
regard to how easily a dog is provoked by something frightening or
uncomfortable.
According to 2021 census data, nearly one
in every three households (30%) in Massachusetts has a dog. Boston ranked
eleventh nationally among metro areas with the highest pet ownership ranks,
with 38.7%
of households owning a pet.
The legislation also clarifies that human service workers
are able to report instances of animal abuse when acting in their professional
capacity.
H.4911, An
Act relative to animal welfare and reporting of animal cruelty, abuse or
neglect, was previously passed by the House of Representatives in July
2024. The Senate’s version of the legislation that will be taken up on
Thursday makes only non-substantive technical changes to the
House-passed version of the legislation.
The Senate's Thursday session will begin at 11:00 a.m. EDT,
and be streamed live at malegislature.gov/Events/Sessions/Detail/5006.
沒有留言:
發佈留言