Tennessee bill aims to close loopholes in animal abandonment as shelters see more intakes

EAST RIDGE, Tenn. — A new bill looks clarify current Tennessee law regarding the abandonment of animals.

East Ridge Animal Services says they see dogs and cats left to fend for themselves all the time.

They tell us that for most pet owners, the issue boils down to a lack of affordability.

Jennie Van Ausdal is the supervisor at East Ridge Animal Services. She says...

"It's sad, you know? Being in the animal industry, it affects us deeply. It's a hard job to do, and it's hard to see these kind of things happen all the time. We try to put as many resources as we can out into the community."

Approximately 6 million animals end up in shelters each year, according to the American Humane Society.

Van Ausdal says some people do not mean harm when they abandon their animals. They just might not have the resources for proper care.

"You're down on your luck and you can't afford dog or cat food... You can actually contact us and we can help you out for a couple of days if we need to, to try to help things like this to be avoided."

Tennessee Senate bill 433 wants to get rid of legal loopholes by redefining what constitutes as animal abandonment.

The bill would modify the law by making it a criminal offense for a pet owner to abandon their animal.

According to state Senator Shane Reeves, current law makes it difficult to prosecute owners.

"In current code, someone can only be prosecuted for abandoning an animal if the act is done unreasonably. Magistrates will often not issue the warrant because there's no guidance in the code as to what unreasonable means. This bill deletes the word unreasonable from the statute, which will assist in prosecution."

In the last committee meeting about the bill, some senators worried about what would qualify as animal cruelty under the new legislation.

"This is truly being directed at people that are just egregiously abandoning animals," Reeves clarified.

Van Ausdal says, regardless of what happens, it's a group effort to resolve this issue.

"Consider donating to your local shelters, because we do the best we can, but we are, you know, limited by funds a lot. We want everybody to realize that they can be a part of our volunteer program."

According to Total Vet, it’s estimated that 10 million animals die from abuse in the U.S. every year. In 2021, Tennessee ranked 5th on the list of reported animal abuse.

If you would like to help East Ridge Animal Services or learn what resources they have available, go here.