A new registry in Albany County will now target animal abusers. Those convicted of animal abuse will soon have their pictures posted on an online registry. The proposal by Albany County Legislator Bryan Clenahan passed unanimously Tuesday night. Innae Park has more.

  To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

ALBANY COUNTY, N.Y. -- It's another registry aimed to increase safety.

"People have a right to know if someone with a violent tendency or conviction is living around them," said Albany County Legislator Bryan Clenahan.

However, this registry protects those with paws.

"They don't have a voice," said Albany resident Donna Farnsworth. "The voice they have is usually a cry from a dumpster or behind a barrel or being tossed out of a window. And that's the last voice they get to say."

The Albany County Legislature passed 'Local Law K' unanimously Tuesday night, which means anyone convicted of animal abuse in the county will appear on an online registry. This way they would be prevented from accepting, adopting or buying an animal in the area.

Brad Shear is the Executive Director of the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society (MHHS) and he says it is crucial not to let animals get into the hands of those offenders again.

"There's some types of animal abusers that keep reoffending. Hoarders are one that have almost 100 percent recidivism rate."

MHHS will likely be handling the registry. Each offender's name, photo and address would be posted, all without costing residents anything.

"The offender will pay a fee to the sheriff's department, then the county would pay us to maintain the registry, which will likely be keeping it on our website," said Shear.

The law would fine each offender $50 annually. First time offenders would be on the registry for 10 years. Any further offenses would keep them in the database permanently.

Clenahan proposed the bill after learning of Suffolk County, N.Y., the first to create such a registry in the country. Now that it has passed in his county, he wants others to follow.

Clenahan said, "Hopefully some other local counties will do it too. It will be more effective if Schenectady and Rensselaer counties join us in this. After that, the great hope is to have it go statewide."

An initiative that could protect other residents as well.

"There's all kinds of research that shows a connection between animal abuse to domestic abuse and children abuse is unmistakable," said Clenahan. "By getting ahead of the curve in terms of animal abuse before it becomes domestic or child abuse, I think we can make a safer community for pets and people alike."

At the point, the county executive will have to approve and sign off on the law. It will then go into effect after 90 days.