In Animal protection laws, West Virginia has dropped to #20

In the past, West Virginia has ranked in the top tier in the ALDF rankings and has been in the top tier since the list began in 2006. However, falling to Number  20  in 2021 is a sign our state is failing, and part of that is failure to enforce the laws in place.

• Veterinarians must report suspected animal cruelty, and have immunity for doing so
• +Mandatory post-conviction forfeiture and possession bans
• –No prohibition on sexual assault of an animal
• –Standards for minimum acceptable care for animals (e.g. necessary food, water, shelter) are not well-defined
• –No felony provisions for abandonment or neglect of animals

Read more about it.    West Virginia – Animal Legal Defense Fund (aldf.org)

We understand that most think we have the worst animal protection laws in the nation.  That is not so.  Our problem is enforcement.  Just getting the proper officials to apply the law and enforce it is key.    But our drop in ranking is a red flag that we need to fix our loopholes, get a shelter definition bill passed, put more pressure on locally for everyone to report cruelty when they see it and have officials enforce the laws we have.