I don’t think people realize that often the animals are the only ones punished.
Tanya Hilgendorf
Earlier this year a ballot initiative campaign launched with a goal of amending the Michigan Constitution to “create a registry of convicted animal abusers and change property laws to spare animals from being incarcerated for months or years while their abusers await trial.”
It also aims to give Michigan citizens the opportunity to vote directly on animal welfare and to think about how the law treats animals and considers them to be property.
Tanya Hillgendorf, President and CEO of Humane Society of Huron Valley and Vice Chair, Michigan Pet Alliance and advisor to the coalition, joined us to talk about the two goals of the initiative, who formed the coalition, and the current strategy to get the Michigan Legislature to vote to put it on the 2024 ballot so the initiative does not have to collect signatures.
She also talked about the larger meaning of opening a conversation about animals’ legal status as property, and why prosections are so difficult. Tanya shared some stories of animals in her shelter who languish for months and sometimes longer. Check out the Protect MI Pet website for more information. Watch the group’s Roundtable from March 2023.