Bill > H456

This bill proposes to amend Section 3 of Chapter 209A of the General Laws, which deals with abuse prevention orders, by adding provisions that explicitly include animals. Specifically, it would allow a court to grant the plaintiff, the person seeking the abuse prevention order, possession, care, and control of any animal owned by either party or a minor child in the household. Furthermore, the court could order the defendant, the person against whom the order is sought, to refrain from abusing, threatening, taking, interfering with, transferring, encumbering, concealing, harming, or otherwise disposing of the animal, thereby extending legal protections to animals in situations of domestic abuse.