Volusia County moving forward with plan to keep pets away from abusers

DELAND, Fla. — Volusia County is the latest Florida county to move forward with a database that will keep pets out of the hands of convicted abusers.

The registry in Volusia would allow someone to pull up the potential owner's information and prevent abusers from owning a pet.

The database would show those convicted of animal abuse within the county in the last decade.

Supporters believe the tool is incredibly valuable.

"Even your average person has the ability to go in there (and) look up whoever it is they are trying to check out," said Debbie Darino, an activist for animal rights.

Darino was behind the effort for Ponce's Law, which was named after a black Labrador that police said was beaten to death by its owner.

"It helps tie up some of those loose ends when a judge bans somebody from owning an animal," said Darino. "Unless they go out and abuse another animal, people don't know they are out there."

The county said that only those convicted of abuse will appear in the database.

Six other Florida counties currently use similar registries for abusers.

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Cox Media Group