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SB174 • 2025

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 AND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO AN ANIMAL ABUSE OFFENDER LIST.

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 AND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO AN ANIMAL ABUSE OFFENDER LIST.

Crime
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Poore
Last action
2025-08-21
Official status
Signed 8/21/25
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not specify enforcement mechanisms or penalties for non-compliance by animal shelters.

Law for Animal Abuse Offender List

This law creates an animal abuse offender list maintained by the Office of Animal Welfare and available online, prohibiting animal shelters from adopting pets to individuals on this list.

What This Bill Does

  • Creates a public list of adults convicted of animal abuse offenses.
  • Maintains information about offenders for five years if it's a misdemeanor or fifteen years if it's a felony.
  • Requires animal shelters to check the offender list before approving pet adoptions.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Adults convicted of animal abuse offenses
  • Animal shelters and pet adoption centers

Terms To Know

Conviction
A judgment entered by a Delaware court upon a plea or finding of guilt.
Misdemeanor
A less serious crime that can result in jail time or fines.
Felony
A more serious crime often resulting in prison time.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law does not specify when it will become effective.
  • It is unclear how the list will be enforced or what happens if someone on the list tries to adopt a pet anyway.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HA 1

1 • Burns

Stricken 6/30/25

Plain English: This amendment changes Senate Bill No. 174 to exclude individuals from an animal abuse registry if their offense against law-enforcement animals happened during a legal activity protected by the First Amendment.

  • Exempts individuals from being listed on an animal abuse offender list if they were convicted of harming law-enforcement animals while engaging in activities legally protected under the First Amendment.
  • The amendment does not specify what types of lawful activities are considered to be protected by the First Amendment, which could lead to uncertainty about its application.
HA 2

2 • Burns

Passed 6/30/25

Plain English: The amendment removes certain crimes involving harm to law enforcement animals as a reason for someone to be put on an animal abuse offender list.

  • Removes 'offenses against law-enforcement animals' from the criteria that require individuals to be placed on an animal abuse offender list.
SA 1

1 • Poore

Passed 6/12/25

Plain English: This amendment allows individuals convicted of animal abuse to petition for early removal from a public animal abuse offender list after waiting periods based on the severity of their original offense.

  • Individuals with misdemeanor convictions can file a petition for removal two years after conviction, while those with felony convictions must wait seven years.
  • Petitions for removal must be filed with the court that issued the original conviction and served to the Attorney General’s Office.
  • Courts have discretion to remove individuals from the list based on factors such as rehabilitation efforts and risk to animals.
  • The amendment does not specify what happens if an individual fails to meet the criteria for removal after filing a petition.

Bill History

  1. 2025-08-21 Delaware General Assembly

    Signed by Governor

  2. 2025-06-30 Delaware General Assembly

    Amendment HA 1 to SB 174 - Stricken in House

  3. 2025-06-30 Delaware General Assembly

    Amendment HA 2 to SB 174 - Passed In House by Voice Vote

  4. 2025-06-30 Delaware General Assembly

    Passed By House. Votes: 38 YES 1 NO 1 ABSENT 1 VACANT

  5. 2025-06-30 Delaware General Assembly

    Suspension of Rules in Senate

  6. 2025-06-30 Delaware General Assembly

    Passed By Senate. Votes: 15 YES 6 NO

  7. 2025-06-18 Delaware General Assembly

    Reported Out of Committee (Health & Human Development) in House with 13 On Its Merits

  8. 2025-06-12 Delaware General Assembly

    Amendment SA 1 to SB 174 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 18 YES 1 NOT VOTING 2 ABSENT

  9. 2025-06-12 Delaware General Assembly

    Passed By Senate. Votes: 15 YES 3 NO 1 NOT VOTING 2 ABSENT

  10. 2025-06-12 Delaware General Assembly

    Assigned to Health & Human Development Committee in House

  11. 2025-06-11 Delaware General Assembly

    Reported Out of Committee (Health & Social Services) in Senate with 3 Favorable, 1 On Its Merits, 1 Unfavorable

  12. 2025-06-05 Delaware General Assembly

    Introduced and Assigned to Health & Social Services Committee in Senate

Official Summary Text

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 AND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO AN ANIMAL ABUSE OFFENDER LIST.
This Act establishes an animal abuse offender list which will be maintained by the Office of Animal Welfare. The list will be available to the public on the Office of Animal Welfare’s website. The list will contain information regarding adult individuals who are convicted of an animal abuse offense to assist the public and animal agencies in identifying individuals who present a risk to animal welfare. This Act prohibits animal shelters from approving pet adoptions to individuals who are on the animal abuse offender list.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Sen. Poore & Rep. K. Williams

Sens. Cruce, Hansen, Walsh, Wilson; Reps. Heffernan, Ross Levin

DELAWARE STATE SENATE

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE BILL NO. 174

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 AND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO AN ANIMAL ABUSE OFFENDER LIST.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1. Amend Chapter 41, Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

Subchapter IV. Animal Abuse Offender List.

§ 4130. Definitions.

As used in this subchapter:

(1) “Animal” means as defined in § 1325 (a)(2) of this title.

(2) “Animal abuse offense” means any of the following offenses as defined in Title 11:

a. § 775. Bestiality.

b. § 1250. Offenses against law-enforcement animals.

c. § 1325. Cruelty to animals; class A misdemeanor; class F felony.

d. § 1325A. The unlawful trade in dog or cat byproducts; class B misdemeanor, class A misdemeanor.

e. § 1326. Animals; fighting and baiting prohibited; class E felony.

(3) “Conviction” or “convicted” means a judgment entered by a Delaware court upon a plea of guilty, a plea of nolo contendere, a plea of guilty to a criminal charge where the defendant does not admit to the factual basis of the crime but agrees to the consequences of the plea, a probation before judgment discharge without judgment of conviction notwithstanding the provisions of § 4218(g) of this title, a finding of guilt by a jury or the court, or a finding of not guilty after trial as a result of the defense of mental disease or defect pursuant to this title.

§ 4131. Animal abuse offender list; public website.

(a) The Office of Animal Welfare shall create a list of adult individuals convicted of an animal abuse offense and publicly post the list on the Office of Animal Welfare’s website with information set forth in subsection (b) of this section.

(b) The list shall include all of the following:

(1) The individual’s legal name and any previously used names, aliases, or nicknames.

(2) Date of birth.

(3) A photograph taken of the individual as part of the criminal booking process.

(4) The crime in which the individual was convicted.

(c) The list may not include any of the following:

(1) The individual’s social security number.

(2) The individual’s driver license number.

(3) Any other state or federal identification number.

(d) The court clerk shall forward a copy of the judgment and date of birth of all individuals convicted of an animal abuse offense to the Office of Animal Welfare within 21 calendar days of the date of judgment.

(e) The Office of Animal Welfare shall maintain the individual’s information described in subsection (b) of this section for as long as follows:

(1) Five years for an individual convicted of a misdemeanor animal abuse offense.

(2) Fifteen years for an individual convicted of a felony animal abuse offense.

(f) The Office of Animal Welfare shall remove the individual’s information described in subsection (b) of this section, provided that the individual is not convicted of another animal abuse offense during the period of time the individual was on the list.

§ 4132. Rules.

The Office of Animal Welfare may promulgate rules necessary for implementation of this chapter.

Section 2. Amend Chapter 30F, Title 16 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 3003F. Animal adoption, recovery, and rehabilitation.

(f) Prior to an adoption, an animal shelter shall consult the animal abuse offender list as established by § 4131 of Title 11 to determine if the individual seeking ownership of an animal is on the animal abuse offender list.

(1) Animal shelters may not approve an animal adoption to an individual on the animal abuse offender list.

(2) A pet store that allows for an animal shelter to use the store’s premises for the purpose of making animals available for adoption are exempt from requirements of this subsection provided that the pet store does not have an ownership interest in any of the animals that are made available for adoption.

SYNOPSIS

This Act establishes an animal abuse offender list which will be maintained by the Office of Animal Welfare. The list will be available to the public on the Office of Animal Welfare’s website. The list will contain information regarding adult individuals who are convicted of an animal abuse offense to assist the public and animal agencies in identifying individuals who present a risk to animal welfare. This Act prohibits animal shelters from approving pet adoptions to individuals who are on the animal abuse offender list.

Author: Senator Poore