Animal Welfare
Care and compassion for our companion animals is important to developing a nurturing and kind community. Fighting against animal cruelty has been important to me since becoming elected in 2017 and it will continue to be an issue that drives me in the future.
A few of the bills that I have sponsored and which are now law include:
Requirements for improved outdoor shelters and enhanced restrictions on tethering (Co-Prime sponsor of SB 139; 150th GA) In an effort to ensure the safety and wellbeing of dogs, this legislation improves the requirements for outdoor shelter in hazardous weather conditions and enhances the restrictions on tethering. This bill also aims to improve public safety by prohibiting dogs from running at-large without a leash in public outdoor settings.
Public Outdoor patios (Co-sponsor of HB 275; 150th GA) This bill permits the owner of a beer garden or food establishment to allow leashed dogs on licensed outdoor patios.
Additional revenue for the State Spay/Neuter Program (Co-prime sponsor of SB 185, which became HB 263; 151st GA) This bill seeks to address the overpopulation of cats and dogs in our state by creating an additional revenue stream for the State Spay/Neuter Program from a fee assessed per brand on pet food manufacturers.
Retired Research Animal Adoption (Co-sponsor of SB 101; 149th GA) This Act requires research facilities that receive public funding to offer their cats and dogs that have been used for medical or scientific research for adoption instead of euthanizing them when they are no longer needed. For dogs and cats not adopted by students or staff, this Act creates a clear path to transition the animals from the laboratory or testing facility to an adoption center by requiring the research institution to enter into a contract with an animal rescue group or shelter that can offer these animals the possibility of living out the rest of their lives in a loving home.
Increasing damages for tortious injury to pets (Co-sponsor of SS 1 to SB 258; 151st GA) This Act abrogates current Delaware law as it presently stands regarding available recovery for damages related to injured or deceased pets that are tortiously injured by a third party or a third party’s animal.
Sen. Hansen at Winbak Farms in Middletown
Yesterday, I was honored to be a part of the inaugural academy graduation for seven new animal control officers. This is the first class of officers to graduate from the Animal Services Academy, which is a collaboration between our Delaware Office of Animal Welfare and Wilmington University's Criminal Justice Institute. Through the 110-hour course, the new officers receive specific training on spotting animal cruelty, arrest, search and seizure, rabies protocol, de-escalation techniques, armament systems and procedures, law enforcement information sharing service (LEISS), handcuffing, and pepper spray. Kudos to our dedicated leaders Christine Motoyoshi and Mark Tobin in OAW for their persistence and creativity in developing this academy with Michael Terranova of the Criminal Justice Institute, and congratulations to our new graduate officers!
State Sen. Stephanie Hansen, October 26, 2023
Yesterday, the Governor signed 3 important bills into law that will collectively protect people and pets from dangerous situations by incorporating their safety into domestic abuse protections.
I am proud to have sponsored Senate Bill 71, which will require law enforcement agencies, the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families, and the Department of Justice to report suspected animal cruelty that is discovered while performing their responsibilities in child welfare cases to the Office of Animal Welfare (OAW). Importantly, it also provides immunity to people who in good faith, report suspected animal cruelty to OAW.
There is a strong link between intra-familial abuse and animal abuse. When animals in a home are abused or neglected, it is a warning sign that others in the household may not be safe. With the help of Senate Bill 71, social workers and case workers can play key roles in cross-reporting animal abuse and human violence.
Far too often, our pets get caught in the middle of family disputes or used as tools of manipulation or abuse. I’m proud to be the Senate Prime Sponsor of House Bill 95, which will require Family Court to award possession and provide for the care of companion animals when dividing marital property.
I am also glad to join Senator Nicole Poore in Co-Sponsoring Senate Bill 70. This bill addresses both animal welfare and domestic abuse by giving Family Court the authority to treat animal violence as a red flag in a protection from abuse case and keep pets away from abusers.
Thank you to my colleagues and Governor Carney for signing this legislative package into law and their continuous support and dedication to protect those from animal cruelty and violence against a child, spouse, or intimate partner.
State Sen. Stephanie Hansen, June 28, 2023
After reporting to our Office of Animal Welfare (OAW) what turned out to be an animal-fighting operation near Townsend, I took a closer look into our laws prohibiting this heinous practice. It turned out that we could do a lot more. Animal fighting (specifically dog-fighting and cock-fighting) are prevalent in Delaware and they are big business. People involved in this activity profit off of the manufacturing and sale of specially designed equipment to build endurance in dogs and gaffs or slashers to enhance the blood-letting of roosters.
They gamble and bet big money on animal-fighting, they live stream it so that this disgusting activity can be viewed far and wide, and it’s often an integral component in other illegal activity involving drugs, guns, and gangs.
Animal fighting is an organized, cruel and brutal business for spectator entertainment and profit. Animals are severely injured and killed, and in fact, that’s the point - often with children as witnesses to this horror.
Working with OAW, the Department of Justice, and animal advocates, I drafted Senate Bill 198 which became law in 2024. Prior to SB 198, someone could only be arrested for animal-fighting if they caught while an animal-fighting event was occurring. Even if it was clear that animal fighting occurs at the site because all of the other signs of the enterprise were present, unless the act was in progress, there could be no arrest. SB 198 changes that and extends the law to cover knowingly possessing, owning, buying, selling, transferring or manufacturing animal fighting paraphernalia with the intent to engage in or otherwise promote or facilitate such fighting.
With the extra enforcement tool, animals like Wink (who lost his eye as a result of an organized animal fight) will stand a greater chance of being rescued from a life of torture.
The photo on the left shows Wink and the volunteers from the Brandywine Valley SPCA that joined me on the Senate floor for the bill discussion on March 28, 2024.