We are glad the state’s Humane Society pushed for SB 216, a new law the encourages animal shelters and pounds to register with the state’s Animal Welfare Commission. We hope the shelters and pounds in Washington Parish will register as soon as possible.

To be sure, there will be no immediate reward for registering. The state is hoping to track the amount of animals that move in and out of a shelter. The state wants to know how many animals are euthanized and how many are adopted out and, more generally, the LAWC wants to know the conditions of public shelters in Louisiana.

On the one hand, this sort of record keeping is time consuming, but it is also necessary for any shelter and submitting the data to the state should be nothing more than a painless but additional step in the process.

The goal is to get recommendations and help from the state in the form of training or access to grants. An outside set of eyes can often reveal problems that need correcting, and offer input for possible solutions.

For too long, rural shelters in parishes such as ours have been infamous for lax attention to animal welfare and though the biggest problems are now decades past us, participating in this statewide database should put to rest any lingering questions any outside agencies may have about our commitment to animal welfare.