On January 1, 2016 Tennessee, the first state to adopt an animal
abuse registry, went live with it registry. As of January 13, 2016,
the state reports that "[a]t this time, no
individuals meet the legal requirement for inclusion on the
registry."
Theoretically then, the registry will only include the names of
alleged abusers who are found liable under the statute as of or
after the date of its enactment.
Other jurisdictions, including the Missouri and New Jersey, are
considering adopting laws that require the establishment of animal
abuse registries.
In Missouri, HB 1707 seemingly only requires the maintenance of
a list of offenders by the state police:
Beginning January 1, 2017, the Missouri
state highway patrol shall post a publicly accessible list on its
website of any person convicted of an animal abuse offense on or
after such date. The list shall include a photograph taken of each
convicted animal abuser as part of the booking process, the
