Issue Position: Combating Animal Abuse and Cruelty

Issue Position

My family and I are blessed with two loving dogs, Grady and Hoshi, who bring joy to our lives and helped teach my daughters the values of compassion and responsibility. I am dismayed by reports of animal cruelty--including dog fighting and neglect. Virginia must lead the way in to protecting, defending, and advocating for animal protections and preventing cruelty toward animals. I applaud Attorney General Herring's decision to create the nation's first attorney general's Animal Law unit and share his concern for animal welfare and will fight to ensure our state agencies have the resources they need to combat animal abuse and neglect. Preventing animal cruelty is additionally important because the evidence is clear: there is a direct link between animal cruelty and violence against women and children. We need to recognize the warning signs for future violence and protect vulnerable animals.

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