Maine Animal Coalition: News - LD 2171 Passes Maine's House and Senate and Becomes Final Law

News: LD 2171 Passes Maine's House and Senate and Becomes Final Law

LD 2171, An Act to Amend the Animal Welfare Laws, passed the Maine Legislature's House of Representatives and Senate and was signed into law by the Governor on April , 2008.

Below is an update on the final revisions to the bill from Katie Lisnik, Maine State Director for the Humane Society of the United States:

As for LD 2171, the Appropriations Committee finally voted on it yesterday and amended it slightly to remove the fiscal note that was attached to it. The addition of "criminal negligence" as a crime in the cruelty code has been removed because that new crime would have cost the general fund money each year for additional incarcerations.

The farm animal affirmative defense language is still in the bill. There is also a new section that allows the Department of Agriculture to inject some needed money into the Animal Welfare Program, which needs it badly. In light of the many good sections of the bill, we (HSUS) decided to still support the bill, even if the farm animal language was not removed.


Click on the link below to view the full text of the law.

LD 2171/Chapter