New law nixes pet tattoos, piercings

One pet obsession has crossed the line in the eyes of New York legislators.Piercing and tattooing your pets has been banned by both the state Senate and the Assembly. The bill, which prohibits dogs, cats and other companion animals from receiving piercings and tattoos, except markings for identification purposes, was overwhelmingly passed by the Assembly on June 18 and was sent to the governor for signature.Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis co-sponsored the legislation with Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal. She was moved to do something about the issue, she said, after seeing a March, 2012, “20/20” segment called “Pet Crazy,” that highlighted such actions.“It is a shame that we even need to legislate a ban such as the incredibly cruel acts of piercing and tattooing animals, but these practices have become increasingly more common,” noted Malliotakis. “These painful procedures and the general anesthesia puts them at a tremendous health risk. These animals cannot give consent and end up suffering from the pain of recovery and possible infection.”The bill only allows tattooing to be done for medical or identification reasons, and only by licensed professionals. As an alternate to tattooing, many animal advocates suggest using microchips as a form of identification for animals.