SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- An animal rights group says Kentucky, North Dakota, Idaho, Mississippi and Iowa have the weakest laws against animal abuse.
In an announcement Wednesday, the Animal Legal Defense Fund announced its annual ranking of states. The San Francisco-based group has issued its list for five years.
Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Oregon and California were at the other end of the spectrum, cited for the best protection of animals. The fund said Illinois was at the top and Kentucky the bottom for the fourth consecutive year.
"While many states continue to make positive progress for animals, there are, unfortunately, still many places where the laws are incapable of providing the legal protections that our country's animals need and deserve," Stephan Otto, the director of legislative affairs and author of the report, said.
States with weak protections generally do not have laws making animal abuse a felony or have weak laws, do not have strong laws against animal fighting and do not bar people convicted of animal abuse from owning them in the future.
