One city in Florida had fought back and said one family that abandoned their pets to starve to death inside their foreclose house was too many.
Martin County residents who leave their pets behind when they move face up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine under a new law adopted Tuesday by the Martin County Commission.
The new ordinance would enable Martin County Sheriff's Office deputies to arrest people who abandon their pets in a home they are vacating, said Commission Chairman Ed Ciampi. It is based on Sarasota County's animal abandonment ordinance.
"As far as I'm concerned, this is an anti-cruelty issue for people who — for whatever reason — just up and leave," Ciampi said. "This was meant to go after a delinquent homeowner who abandons the pet and moves."
Ciampi said he proposed the animal abandonment ordinance after a county resident told him about a foreclosed house where abandoned pets had been found dead.
"There was nothing they could do about it," Ciampi said. "There (was) no ordinance that would allow any law enforcement organization to do anything
http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_martin_county/martin-county-makes-it-a-crime-to-leave-pet-behind-in-vacated-home-