Albany County has enacted perhaps the toughest of the animal abuse registry requirements of all counties in New York State. Albany requires that all person convicted of animal abuse crimes who are 16 or older register with the registry within five days of sentencing or being released from incarceration.
Each registrant is required to pay an annual fee of $50.00, which is used to pay administrative and maintenance costs for the registry. The registry maintains names and aliases, addresses and photographs of the convicted persons. The registration must be updated each year and within ten days of an address change. The registrant must stay in database for ten years from date of conviction. Any subsequent convictions for animal abuse require registrants to stay in the database for life.
Albany County also prohibits animal shelters, pet sellers, or any other person or entity to transfer animal ownership to a person registered in this database. All persons and entities located in Albany are required to check the database before transferring ownership of an animal to someone.
The penalty for failing to register with the database is that the offender is guilty of a misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to one year imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $1,000.00 for each day that the offender fails to register. Additionally, any person or entity who fails to check the registry before transferring ownership of an animal to a registrant or knowingly transfers ownership to someone who is registered in the database will be guilty of a violation and subject to a fine up to $5,000.00.
Rincker Law, PLLC works on animal law cases – both with litigation and mediation. Cari is licensed in the Tri-state area and Illinois. She works on both companion animal, livestock and equine law matters.