A number of United States jurisdictions have implemented an animal offenders registry, which will publicly reveal the names of known animal abusers in the area, similar to how sex offenders are registered.
Currently, Tennessee is the only state to have an animal offenders registry, but other cities like New York and Cook County, Illinois have them at a local level.
The Tennessee registry is monitored by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and can be accessed at the TBI or any local country office. Each abuser will have their name, date of birth, offense, conviction date, and expiration date.
First time animal abusers will be registered for two years. An additional 5 years will be added for every subsequent offense after the two years.
"We know there is a very strong correlation between animal abuse and domestic violence," said Suffolk County legislator Jon Cooper, the bill's sponsor in Long Island. "Almost every serial killer starts out by torturing animals, so in a strange sense we could end up protecting the lives of people."