|  The 2019/2020 Wisconsin State
Legislative Session is now closed. There were a number of humane bills we were
watching during this session; only ONE passed and was signed into law.
You might keep these
disappointments in mind in preparing for Election Day 2020 -- ASK your
candidates AND the incumbents where they stand on specific humane issues, and
let them know that their replies will influence your vote.
Below
are a list of the bills, with links to more information (including sponsors,
bill summaries, talking points, action taken, etc.):
AB 152/SB 139 - Protecting Animals
of Wisconsin (PAW) Act, to make sexual abuse of animals a felony sex crime:
Passed unanimously by both houses and signed into
law by Gov. Tony Evers on March 3, 2020. It is now WI Act 162!
 More about AB 152/SB
139 WI Act 162 Text
SB 469/AB 520, to make causing grevious bodily harm or death to an animal a
Class I Felony: Failed to pass pursuant to
Senate Joint Resolution 1 (End of Session).. SB 469/AB 520 (which we at
WPMP called "Misty's Law") would have made it a Class I felony for
someone to commit an act of animal abuse that they should reasonably know may
result in grievous bodily harm or death of an animal, regardless of whether
that harm or death actually occurs. We were disappointed that this bill never
made it out of committee in either house.
More about SB 469/AB
520
SB
675/ AB 760 -- Standards For Care, Tethering, and Shelter of Dogs: Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1
(End of Session). This bill would have set tethering and shelter
standards for dogs, including limiting the allowable time that a dog may be
tethered outside, and set standards for dogs being transported in the back of
pickup trucks, and for dogs left unattended in parked cars. We were
disappointed that this bill never made it out of committee in either house.
More about SB 675/ AB
760
AB 298/SB
478, To prohibit sale of dogs/cats in WI pet stores: Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1
(End of Session). AB 298 would have, quite simply, prohibit Wisconsin
pet stores from selling dogs and cats. Provision is also made in the bill for
"showcasing, in the pet store, animals that are available for
adoption" by shelters and rescues. This legislation came under early
attack by lobbyists from a group affiliated with Petland, a national chain of
pet stores, and never made it out of committee in either house.
More about AB 298/SB 478
SB
30/AB 29, To end wildlife killing contests in Wisconson:
Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution
1 (End of Session). SB 30/ AB 29 would have prohibited contests for
killing wild animals and providing a penalty. In his memo to all WI
legislators, the bill's author, Sen. Risser, wrote: "In Wisconsin, there
is no prohibition to wildlife killing contests. These contests use various
tactics to attract, manipulate, confuse, and even temporarily blind wildlife in
order to kill as many animals as possible. Dogs, semi-automatic weapons, ATVs,
traps, snares, and snowmobiles are often used in such contests, including
participants chasing animals on snowmobiles to the point of exhaustion and
running them over repeatedly." Even though the bills were introduced at
the very beginning of the legislative session, neither were ever scheduled for
public hearings, nor did they make it out of committee in either house.
More about AB 29/
SB 30
SB 871, Relating to: the requirements for a
court order to kill a dog: Failed to pass pursuant
to Senate Joint Resolution 1 (End of Session). This bill would have
modified the situations under which a court may grant a judgment for an order
to kill a dog. Under the bill, a court may not count an occasion in which a dog
causes serious injury if the occasion involves a veterinarian or professional
animal care worker who believes that the dog was not behaving aggressively when
the dog caused the injury. Introduced on February 28, this bill had no chance
of actually going anywhere.
SB 871 Bill History
We are already working on a
strategy for the 2021/2022 legislative session, including drafts for
reintroduction. We will never give up! WIth your help, we'll get it done in
'21!
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