The New York State Senate wants to crack down on people who hit animals with their vehicles and then take off without tending to the injured animal.
State Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-Brooklyn) and Assemblyman Tony Simone (D-Manhattan) introduced the PAWS Act Protecting Animals Walking on the Street Act. The Act, if passed, will substantially raise the fines for hit-n-runs involving a pet or companion animal.
Currently, the fine is just $50, but under the PAWS Act that would go up to $500 and potentially 15 days in jail – the same penalty for hitting a pedestrian or a cyclist. The act would update current vehicle and traffic laws to raise the fine for leaving a “companion animal” injured or dead in a hit-and-run accident.
The PAWS Act would add a new category of “companion animals” to the “due care statute” under vehicle traffic law making companion animals the same as pedestrians, cyclists, sheep, cattle, and goats as far as hit-n-run accidents.
Chief of Department for the Suffolk County SPCA, Roy Gross, says, “We support anything protecting animals in any way. I've witnessed where people not only hit an animal but have aimed for them. This has got to stop and where it doesn’t stop it has to be punished.”
“Take in the ID tag to the police or an animal shelter and allow these people to try to get closure over the death of their pet. They don't know if their beloved pet has been lost or if it was killed,” says Gross. “At least notify someone that you found their dog.”
Gross told South Shore Press that “ it is heartbreaking when you see people putting signs on telephone poles and in stores and advertising in papers trying to find their dog or cat – even putting out a reward.”
For someone to run over an animal and leave it to suffer is unconscionable to most people. And, for the people who are looking for that missing pet, the anguish their families go through is indescribable.
Gross shared that he has seen some terrible things in the 40 years that he’s been with the Suffolk County SPCA. He has seen negligence and cruelty that breaks his heart but also great joy when an animal heals and finds a new home with a loving family.
“We had one case some years ago in Suffolk County right near a church where there's a pond and the ducks walk across the street. This person not only ran over the ducks, with the babies and everything, then backed up, and ran over them again purposely,” said Gross. “What kind of person would do such a thing? What are they doing in other parts of their life?”
It is unclear if the $500 would be a deterrent, but if it helps even a little Suffolk County SPCA is all for it.
“Well, listen, if they can help and save an animal, it's certainly worth it. All you have to do is stop. Call the police. Just make the call,” says Gross. “Just say, I just had an accident and I hit this animal, whether it's dead or alive. You know, nobody's going to hold that against you if it's an accident.”
The bottom line is that everyone needs to be more responsible – the people who let their pets run free and the people who accidentally or purposively hit them.
“Over one million pets call New York home, and they play an important role in our lives, whether they be service animals, guide dogs, or just members of the family,” said State Senator Andrew Gounardes. “But right now, our traffic law treats them like disposable property. The PAWS Act recognizes the dignity and value of these nonhuman New Yorkers, and ensures our laws send a clear message to reckless drivers: paws your vehicle to let pets pass.”
Gross from the Suffolk County SPCA was clear that people should not just open the door and let their dogs and cats out to run loose hoping they will come home safely.
Gross ended by saying, “And so going back to this law, anything that would help to deter animal cruelty in any way we certainly support it. Maybe it'll be a deterrent. If it isn’t a deterrent and they get caught, at the very least they face these fines.