Tails Wagging Over Strides in Guam’s Laws Protecting Animals

Animal Legal Defense Fund Releases Annual Report Ranking Animal Cruelty Laws Across the Nation

Megan Backus (ALDF)

SAN FRANCISCO – Following a detailed comparative analysis of the animal protection laws of each state in the country, the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) has released a new report ranking all fifty states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and other U.S. territories for the general comprehensiveness and relative strength of their respective animal protection laws— and thanks to recent improvements in its laws for animals, Guam moved up 18 spots to 34^th in the nation.

Based on a detailed comparative analysis of more than 4,000 pages of statutes, tracking fourteen broad categories of provisions, the report, the longest-running and most authoritative of its kind, recognizes the states where animal law has real teeth—and calls out those where animal abusers get off easy. The report found that Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Oregon, and California have the best laws on behalf of animals. In the doghouse this year are Kentucky, North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, and Iowa—which ranked as the five “best states to be an animal abuser.”

Why are Guam’s new anti-cruelty laws something to wag about? Guam, though not yet in the top tier when it comes to animal protection, showed the second most improvement overall in 2011. Through the recent strengthening of its animal protection laws, Guam joined the list of U.S. jurisdictions with felony animal abuse penalties. The new felony penalty applies to not only cases involving cruelty, but also neglect of an animal which results in his or her serious physical injury or death. In addition, Guam’s new law made animal abandonment a misdemeanor; authorized the law enforcement seizure of mistreated animals, and adopted robust standards of care for animals. 

“We applaud the significant improvements Guam has made for animals over the past year. However, there are still important areas for improvement in Guam, and in every jurisdiction’s laws, even those currently ranked in the top tier of our report,” says Stephan Otto, the Animal Legal Defense Fund's director of legislative affairs and author of the report. “Animals do not vote—but those who love them definitely do. We encourage lawmakers throughout the country to take heed and commit to working to improve these critical laws.”

The full report, including a rankings map, chart, and overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the animal protection laws of the best and worst states, is available at aldf.org.

ALDF was founded in 1979 with the unique mission of protecting the lives and advancing the interests of animals through the legal system. For more information, and to download ALDF’s “Animal Protection Laws of the U.S.A. and Canada” compendium (on which the report is principally based), visit aldf.org.