LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference Wednesday at an animal rescue in Loxahatchee, where he signed two bills that seek to crack down on animal cruelty.
The governor was joined by Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Executive Director Dave Kerner and others for the news conference at Big Dog Ranch Rescue.
The bills — HB 255: Aggravated Animal Cruelty and SB 150: Abandoning Restrained Dogs During Natural Disasters — are referred to as “Dexter’s Law” and “Trooper’s Law,” respectively.
“Dexter’s Law” was named after a dog that was found decapitated several days after being adopted in Pinellas County, the governor said.
The law seeks to create a database on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s website containing the names of people who have been convicted of or have pleaded guilty or no contest to animal cruelty charges.
“Current sentencing guidelines don’t match the gravity of these crimes, and it was evident that Florida law needed to do more to protect dogs from senseless violence,” DeSantis said. “(Dexter’s Law) strengthens penalties for aggravated animal cruelty and ensures the offenders are tracked and punished accordingly. The bill will apply a sentencing multiplier and it also creates Florida’s first-ever animal abuse database making sure that shelters and the public have a right to be made reasonably aware of individuals convicted of animal cruelty in their community. The bill is narrowly tailored to only apply to acts of cruelty against domesticated companion animals, this does not in any way, shape or form impact Floridians’ right to hunt and fish, as that is traditionally done.”
“Dexter’s Law” will go into effect on July 1.
“Trooper’s Law” was named after a dog that was rescued by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper in October 2024. The trooper, Orlando Morales, found the dog tied to a fence along Interstate 75 in Tampa and standing in water up to its chest.
[WATCH: Dog tied up, abandoned along Florida interstate ahead of Hurricane Milton]
Morales rescued the dog, which was later named “Trooper” and was adopted by its new owners in Broward County.
“Trooper’s Law” provides criminal penalties for restraining a dog outside during a natural disaster and thereafter abandoning the dog, according to the bill summary.
“We’re a law-and-order state, and that includes the need to prosecute those who are derelict in their duty to take care of their own pets,” DeSantis said. “(Trooper’s Law) makes it a third-degree felony to restrain and/or abandon a dog outdoors during a declared natural disaster any time in which a mandatory or voluntary evacuation order is in effect. Leaving a dog chained up in the path of an ongoing storm is inhumane and, under this law, it will be a crime that carries up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The bill also codifies penalties for failing to provide confined animals sufficient food, water and exercise, and for abandoning an animal as misdemeanors of the first degree with similar fines.”
It goes into effect on Oct. 1.
Watch the news conference again in the video player below or by clicking here.
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