Governor Reeves signs new animal cruelty bill

Governor Reeves signed an animal cruelty bill into law in an effort to protect cats and dogs and to increase penalties for abuse.

Now, each act of cruelty or abuse that is committed against more than one animal will count as a separate offense.

The charge will count as a felony, the fines will now be doubled and there will be prison time added as well as psychological counseling for the individual. As an added measure, they will no longer be able to own or reside in a home with pets for a number of years.

If a person is convicted of an aggravated cruelty felony, they will also be put on an FBI watch list.

Mississippi Citizens Against Animal Cruelty is the group that pushed for this new dog and cat protection law.