Journalist: Destiny Lugo (ORU)
House Bill No. TU-507, authored by Cayden Jolliff (TU) the “Animal Cruelty Offender Registry” Act of 2026 aims to set up greater protections for animals who need protection against potential harm.
In the “new law” section, the author wrote that beginning January 1, 2027, any person who is found in violation of any of the terms of this bill would be liable to discipline from the law. Some but not all of the specific crimes that would qualify as worthy of being registered under the Animal Cruelty Offender Registration Act, entail the following: the poisoning of animals, acts of cruelty towards animals, allowing for or engaging in cockfighting.
She defined cockfighting as, “a fight between birds, whether or not fitted with spurs, knives, or gaffs, and whether or not bets or wagers are made on the outcome of the fight, and includes any training fight in which birds are intended or encouraged to attack or fight with one another…”. More grievances included enabling and participating in dogfights.
This bill would also work to prevent animal abusers from obtaining animals, and would notify people in neighborhoods if an abuser of animals happens to be in the surrounding area.
This would be made possible through the following terms of the bill; “Upon registration of any person designated as a habitual animal cruelty offender, a local law enforcement authority shall notify…the family of the habitual animal cruelty offender…residential neighbors…”.
One of the detailed terms of the bill stated that “Any person required to register pursuant to the provisions of the Animal Cruelty Offender Registration Act who violates any provision of the act shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a Class D1 felony offense and shall be punished by incarceration as provided for in subsections B through F of Section 20N of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or a fine not to exceed Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or both such fine and imprisonment.”
An additional provision of the bill included that, “All persons, businesses and organizations in this state shall have access to search and identify individual names contained in the Oklahoma Sex Offender Registry, the Mary Rippy Violent Crime Offenders Registry, and the Animal Cruelty Offender Registry for purposes of verifying a person’s suitability for employment, volunteering, and for screening persons at risk of potential harm to children or animals who may work with or provide services to children or animals by utilizing one or more of the following methods…”.
These protective measures not only provide accountability and transparency helping give individuals and organizations more trust and respect for procedural methodology of background checks but adds to the sense of safety people feel as they move through life.
When debate was called, there were many eager supporters. “Preventative measures are helpful- this bill will make it harder [for offenders] to re-offend”, said Jolliff (TU). The Senate was a united front on this bill and it passed with relative ease.