Governor Andrew Cuomo just passed legislation to further protect animals from being mistreated or stolen. The new law raises the fines for harming or stealing a pet from $200 to $1,000. The fines for such acts in New York State had not been raised since 1970. This comes after the American Kennel Club reported a 31 percent increase in pet thefts in 2013 from the year prior. There were a total of nearly 600 pet thefts in 2013, as reported by the AKC.
