Ryan Nicol
Democratic state Sen. Kevin Rader is attempting to give forgotten pets a little bit of the spotlight with a new bill designating shelter animals as the “state pet.”
“Any shelter animal that resides at or has been adopted from an animal shelter or an animal rescue organization is designated as the official Florida state pet,” the legislation reads.
Rader, who represents Senate District 29, filed the bill (SB 240) on Monday.
The bill was filed just a day after reports said nearly 300 dogs and cats were killed at the Humane Society of Grand Bahama because of the destruction of Hurricane Dorian.
Florida already has a state animal (the Florida Panther), a state bird (the Mockingbird) and even a state butterfly (the Zebra Longwing), among other animal-related symbols.
But Rader’s measure would add “state pet” to the list of state symbols.
Shelter animals are stray or lost animals that are kept and rehabilitated. Those shelters then attempt to find a home for those animals.
Rader’s push isn’t the only proposed addition to the state symbol list.
State Sen. Lauren Book, a Plantation Democrat, filed a bill in August (SB 38) that would designate coconut patties as the official state candy.
Should Rader’s bill win support, the measure would take effect immediately upon being signed into law.
2 comments
R-Truth
September 10, 2019 at 12:28 pm
With all of the problems with FloriDUH politics, THESE are our legislators’ top priorities now? I guess the economy, health care, school funding, and etc must all be fixed.
And s far as Senator Book goes, she should have suggested Mounds Candy because sometimes she acts like a nut.
Bill Bro
September 10, 2019 at 1:59 pm
If you’d like to support this measure, please consider being interviewed on FidoPodcast.com. It’s a great idea, worthy of the support of every Florida pet-lover.
Comments are closed.