{"id":235531,"date":"2026-03-25T08:02:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T08:02:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/235531\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T08:02:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T08:02:12","slug":"new-california-bill-would-force-animal-abusers-to-register-as-offenders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/235531\/","title":{"rendered":"New California bill would force animal abusers to register as offenders"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) \u2014 A California lawmaker introduced a new bill on Tuesday that would require animal abusers to register as offenders. AB 2344 would create a California Animal Abuse Registry for adults who have been convicted of felony animal abuse.<\/p>\n

The bill, introduced by Assemblymember Matt Haney (D\u2013San Francisco), would require abusers to register for 10 years to help protect animals from repeat offenders. Animal shelters, rescue organizations, and the public could use the registry\u2019s public website to search for offenders.<\/p>\n

Haney said, \u201cToo often, animals are treated like property after they\u2019ve been tortured, neglected, or killed. AB 2344 says clearly that if you commit felony animal abuse, there will be lasting consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similar to the Megan\u2019s Law website for registered sex offenders, the Animal Abuse Registry\u2019s website would be run by the California Department of Justice.<\/p>\n

Video: Heartwarming reunion of long-lost dog and SF family <\/a><\/p>\n

The assemblyman\u2019s office wrote, \u201cA registry would help better identify people with a history of serious abuse and make it harder for repeat offenders to slip through the cracks. The registry would collect identifying information including the offender\u2019s name, photograph, and conviction details. The California Department of Justice would then make certain information publicly available through an online website intended to help protect animals and improve community safety,\u201d Haney\u2019s office wrote.<\/p>\n

\"(File<\/p>\n

(File photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY\/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

AB 2344 will be heard in the state Assembly Public Safety Committee in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

Haney said, \u201cAnimals are completely dependent on us for care and protection, and when that trust is shattered through abuse, we have a moral obligation to act. Animal cruelty is unacceptable. By giving shelters, rescues, and the public a tool to prevent repeat cruelty, the registry will help protect vulnerable animals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) \u2014 A California lawmaker introduced a new bill on Tuesday that would require animal abusers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":235532,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[106470,2115,7,9,8,31349,106471,94849,80491,101],"class_list":["post-235531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-animal-abusers","tag-animal-shelters","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-matt-haney","tag-megans-law-website","tag-registered-sex-offenders","tag-repeat-offenders","tag-san-francisco"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}