The Georgia General Assembly is considering a bill like that up for consideration in Florida, which would make shelters contact rescuers before euthanizing animals.
Georgia’s proposed Animal Rescue Act is much like Florida’s proposed SB 818, or F.A.R.A., the Animal Rescue Act. Like the Florida act, it would require shelters to maintain lists of local rescuers and contact them before adoptable animals are put down. Also like Florida’s act, the shelters will have to keep account of their monthly and yearly kill numbers. The Georgia act would allow shelters to quickly put down sick animals without offering them to rescues, which would save animals from suffering but might provide a loophole of sorts if the exemption were misapplied.
This life saving legislation will needs the support of Georgia residents and their representatives if it is to pass into law.
The bill is sponsored by representatives Darshun Kendrick, James Beverly, Ralph Long, Sharon Cooper, Mike Jacobs and Stephanie Banfield.
HB 782, the Animal Rescue Act, in its first reader summary, reads: A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 1 of Chapter 11 of Title 4 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to animal protection generally, so as to require animal shelters that euthanize animals to maintain a registry of animal rescue groups willing to accept animals subject to euthanasia; to provide a short title; to provide a definition; to provide eligibility criteria for rescue groups; to provide for information to be included in the registry; to prohibit animal shelters from euthanizing an animal without affording rescue groups the opportunity to take possession of the animal; to provide for exceptions; to authorize animal shelters to impose a fee for surrendering animals; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
This PDF document give further particulars.