Pet owners in Hawaii will need to scoop their animal’s poop or else face a $500 fine thanks to a newly passed law.
The state recently passed a law aimed at preventing pet owners from leaving poop on sidewalks and in public parks. As Your Central Valley reported, the state law has been popular with dog owners and parkgoers who said they don’t want to find little bombs hidden in the grass while they’re taking a walk.
“It’s kind of disgusting if somebody steps on it and there’s no water hose available. It’s worse than littering. You should clean up after your animal,” dog owner Larry Carrilho told the news outlet.
Fellow pet owner Kristina May said that leaving animal poop on the sidewalk or on private property is “like putting a baby’s diaper on the street.”
The new law spells out what animal owners will need to do while walking their pet, leaving a potentially big fine if they fail to pick up after them.
“Classifies allowing an animal under a person’s care or control to drop fecal matter on public or private property as littering,” the description of the law read. “Subjects any violator to a civil penalty of $500 for each occurrence.”
The law has been a hit on social media, with many sharing stories of the new law and praising Hawaii for taking measure to punish lazy animal owners who leave poop for others to deal with. The story also shot to the top of Reddit on Saturday, prompting plenty of supportive comments for lawmakers and hopes that other states will follow suit with pet poop laws of their own.
Hawaii is not the only state to get some viral interest for a new animal-based law. This year, California became the first state in the nation to ban the sale of non-rescue animals form pet shops. As the BBC reported, this law prevents pet stores from selling dogs, cats, and rabbits that came from breeders, specifying that all animals must come directly from shelters.
Hawaii wants to crack down on people who don’t pick up after their pets. ?
Should we do this here? https://t.co/pBCGLQ637b
— KSEE24 News (@KSEE24) February 8, 2019
The law was a major push for animal rights groups, which have spoken out against the breeder industry and point out that a lack of oversight leads to the abuse of animals and lack of care for their welfare. Stores that do not follow the rule will face fines of up to $500, the report noted.
The new Hawaii law requiring pet owners to pick up poop will go into effect soon.
