Lake County Gazette

The Illinois Humane Society Legislative Fund has given Rep. Martin McLaughlin (R-Barrington Hills) a perfect score after voting to move forward four animal cruelty laws.

McLaughlin wrote in a Facebook post that he was honored to be recognized by the organization.

“Thank you to the Illinois Humane Society for the 100% perfect score on their 2021 Legislative Scorecard,” he wrote. “Lily (his dog) approves!”

The Illinois Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF) gave McLaughlin the honor due to his backing of the Humane Pet Store Act (HB 1711), Predatory Pet Sales Loan (HB 572), Mandatory Forfeiture (HB 168), and Wildlife Trafficking (HB 395) with the organization giving scorecards annually for federal and state legislators that depict how they voted on animal rights laws.

Tufts Now reports that roughly one million pets are mistreated or killed during incidents of domestic violence annually.

“Often an animal is a much more effective way for an abuser to control the people in their household than threatening them directly,” Nida Intarapanich, a third-year veterinary student at Cummings School, said. “Victims of domestic violence have said they’d rather be hurt than have their animals be hurt. An abuser can use a puppy or kitten to force the woman to stay, keep their kids quiet or make them otherwise do as they’re told.”

Intarapanich said that claw damage is often linked to physical abuse due to “a frantic attempt to escape the actions of the abuser.”

The proposed anti-cruelty animal protection laws are scheduled to be enacted on Jan. 1, 2022 and are aimed at individuals who mistreat animals through aggravated cruelty, utilizing them for entertainment, along with banning people from owning animals who participate in dog fighting, according to American Humane.

“According to the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s U.S. State Animal Protection Laws Rankings Report (2019), Illinois ranked as the best state for animal protection laws for the 12th consecutive year,” American Humane reports.