Representative Joseph McNamara, chair of the Health, Education and Welfare Committee, wore a cat tie to last Wednesday’s meeting as several bills concerning animal welfare and cruelty were heard by the committee.

But he probably should have worn a tie with pit bulls.

Fifty people, most of them in opposition to legislation to ban the dogs in Pawtucket, signed up to testify.

Representative Jean Philippe Barros (D-Pawtucket) said, “When we talk about animals, you generate a lot of passion on both sides.”

And passion there was.

For every bill pertaining to animals, there were activists, legislators, and animal lovers at the ready to defend the cats and dogs of the state.

Representatives Joseph Solomon Jr. (D-Warwick), Mia Ackerman (D-Cumberland, Lincoln), Joseph Shekarchi (D-Warwick) and John G. Edwards (D-Tiverton) all had bills heard at the meeting.

Solomon’s bill, which would establish the Tufts Animal Care and Conditions Scale as the statewide standard of determining whether or not dogs are neglected, had no testimony in opposition. It was what McNamara called a “good sign.”

The Tufts scale takes into consideration the size and breed of the dog among various other factors.

Solomon said that many municipalities, such as Cranston and Warwick, already use the scale and it has proven very successful.

Dennis Tabella, director of Defenders of Animals, spoke out against some of the bills but was in full support of Solomon’s.

He said that with the scale, authorities could determine not only whether or not a dog is being neglected, but also the degree of neglect.

“Some dogs have suffered for years because there is no specific guidelines that can stand up in court,” Tabella said.

He believes using the Tufts scale could remedy that.

Joseph Warzycha, a humane law enforcement officer for the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Animal Cruelty

(RISPCA), spoke as a professional expert on many of the bills.

He said the current definition of neglect is too ambiguous, and having traveled around the country for various trainings, he can assure Rhode Island they would be adopting a national standard.

The remaining bills focused on the welfare of cats and kittens throughout the state.

Edwards’ bill would exempt registered trap-neuter-release agencies from being charged with abandonment.

According to Edwards, there are 60,000 feral cats in Rhode Island.

These agencies try to curb the reproduction of feral cats while also administering crucial vaccines. Edwards said that 70 percent of feral kittens will die within the first six months of life and the average life expectancy is around two years for a feral cat.

Although others speaking on the bill understood the concern, there was still some confusion.

Tabella is concerned that these agencies were not testing for feline aids and leukemia, which allows them to spread to other feral cats, but also domestic cats that are allowed outside.

He said it may be expensive, but it would be the “right thing to do.”

Warzycha, who is in charge of enforcing these laws, said that he has never seen a trap-neuter-release agency charged with abandonment.

His concern would be that with the current language of the bill, pounds and shelters, registered as release agencies, could open their doors and release any of their animals without the fear of being charged.

The last two bills were both initiatives to address the problem of hoarding and the harm animals can face because of mental disorder.

Hoarding was introduced to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in May of 2013.

Individuals suffering from the disorder collect and save, usually useless items, compulsively with a difficulty of parting or discarding anything.

One bill would add hoarding of animals to the list of animal cruelty offenses and the other would limit a household without special permission to only 10 cats; they were introduced by Ackerman and Shekarchi respectively.

Ackerman said that in the last few years, Rhode Island has gone from the 22nd to the 9th safest state for animals and she hopes that these bills will be able to bring us even higher on the list.

“This legislation can save the lives of many animals,” she said.

Warzycha said last year alone the RISCPA seized 131 animals, the majority of them being cats.

“Hoarding is a very real and very serious problem,” Warzycha said. “These people need to be held accountable not only for the safety of animals, but so that they can get the treatment for their mental disorder.”

He said hoarding causes more animal deaths than cruel intentional acts.

Pier-Marie Toledo agreed that hoarding needs to be added to the list of offenses, but said the legislation needs to include a “safe-guard” requiring a mental health evaluation so that an individual can receive help and the problem isn’t reoccurring.

Kim Casci, from Defender of Animals, agreed with Toledo and both said they respect what Shekarchi’s bill is trying to do, but a limit on pet cats won’t do much.

Toledo said, “The number won’t make a difference in how an owner treats their pets.”

Casci said, “There are lots of ways to go after hoarders, but any limit would not change a hoarder’s behavior; even those municipalities that already have limits will have hoarders.”

PROTECTING AGAINST ABANDONEMENT: Representative John Edwards (D-Tiverton), pictured, explained there are currently 60,000 feral cats in the state. His bill would exempt agencies that trap, neuter or spay, and release the feral animals back from being charged with abandonment.

SETTING THE STANDARD: House bill 5162, introduced by Representative Joseph Solomon Jr., would set the Tufts Animal Care and Conditions Scale in determining cruelty to animals. The scale is already used in Warwick and Cranston among some other municipalities in the state. (Warwick Beacon photos)