RI State Sen. pushes anti-abuse bill

R.I. (WPRI) -- Noisy cats and dogs can be a nuisance, but Rhode Island's Senate Majority Leader doesn't think that gives property owners the right to keep them quiet.

State Senator Dominick Ruggerio publicly urged his fellow lawmakers to pass a bill that would prohibit property owners from forcing their tenants to devocalize and declaw their cats and dogs.

Devocalization, also known as "debarking," is the process by which a dogs' or cats' vocal chords are removed, as to take away their ability to bark or meow. Ruggerio called this process "an act of animal abuse."

If the bill were to pass, property owners who force their tenants to use this process on their pets would be subject to a $1000 fine and a possible ban from owning animals.