People Adopting Dogs, Cats in New York State to Get $100 Tax Credits, New Bill Promises

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New York State is trying to encourage its citizens to “adopt, not shop” for their pets. A new bill is proposing a $100 tax credit for anyone who adopts from a shelter in the state, to encourage people toward rescue and away from buying animals from breeders.

As of February 2020, the new bill, which is sponsored by Senator Phil Boyle and still under consideration by the New York State Senate, proposes “a $100 credit for a maximum of three dogs or cats per taxable year.” Currently, dogs and cats are the only domestic animals identified within the bill.

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The intention of the credit is to help cover the cost of adoption fees, thus helping families who may otherwise be unable to meet the cost of adoption to help New York state’s animals in most dire need of homes.

According to The Dogington Post, Animal Care & Control of New York City alone picked up over 30,000 homeless dogs and cats in 2019. The new bill has amassed a huge amount of support from animal rights activists because of its pro-animal adoption agenda.

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The bill, if passed, could have a tremendous impact upon not only shelter animals but also the millions of stray animals at large and in need of rescue. The more shelter animals that are homed, the more space, time, and resources New York state shelters will have to take in and care for more strays.

The bill runs concurrently with another domestic animal welfare bill in the New York state legislature that is gaining widespread support in early 2020. The bill, as per WAMC, proposes to ban the selling of dogs, cats, and rabbits at pet stores in an effort to render unethical puppy mills obsolete.

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The bill’s sponsor, Senator Michael Gianaris, told WAMC, “The unsanitary conditions and ways in which these animals are kept [in puppy mills] is cruel and inhumane.”

The animals housed and displayed in pet stores “live terrible lives,” added assembly sponsor Linda Rosenthal. “There are so many adoptable animals in New York state right now,” she said.

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Waiving adoption fees can have tremendous success in helping home shelter animals. On Feb. 2, 2020, Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi led the charge for animal adoption by sponsoring over 100 pet adoptions at KC Pet Project shelters in celebration of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win.

On Super Bowl Sunday, Nnadi pledged to cover the adoption fee of $150 per animal for all adoptable pets as of Feb. 2. The adoption drive homed an incredible 38 dogs and six cats on its first open day.

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“I’ve never been a champion before,” Nnadi told CNN. “All the years of me playing football, that first time honestly feels like the best day of my life.”

The longtime dog lover was never allowed a pet as a child but became a staunch animal advocate after adopting his first dog, Rocky, as a college senior. “When I first got him, he was very timid,” Nnadi explained. “It made me think of how other animals, whether they’re owned or in a shelter, are feeling scared and alone.”

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According to the ASPCA, approximately 6.5 million animals enter U.S. shelters every single year. Of those, around 3.3 million are dogs, and 3.2 million are cats.

A tax credit initiative like New York state’s proposed bill could make a huge positive difference to animal adoption statistics.

Offering a loving forever home to a needy animal can be one of the most rewarding things a person can do.

U.S. animal shelters are bursting at the seams with adoptable animals; if this bill is passed, New York state will see to it that the people who choose to help shelter animals are duly rewarded for their kindness.