Carol Burnett Thanks Gov. Northam for Signing Legislation Restricting Dog Tethering

Comedy Icon Supported Lifesaving, PETA-Backed Legislation From the Get-Go

For Immediate Release:
April 18, 2020

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Just days after Gov. Ralph Northam signed Senate Bill 272 and House Bill 1552 into law, thereby significantly increasing protections for tethered dogs statewide, comedy icon and PETA supporter Carol Burnett—who previously wrote an op-ed in support of the measure—sent him a thank-you note on PETA’s behalf.

“As someone who is particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, I’m taking precautions to protect myself, and I’ve developed a much deeper understanding of the loneliness, frustration, fear, anxiety, and desperation that dogs endure when they’re kept chained and isolated for their entire lives,” writes Burnett. “You’ve made Virginia a more humane place for dogs as well as a safer place for all residents.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—notes that Gov. Northam’s administration supported the bills during session and that as of July 1, Virginia law will prohibit leaving dogs tethered during freezing temperatures, extreme heat, and hurricanes and other severe storms. The legislation also increases the minimum length of a tether from 10 to 15 feet.

The group has lobbied the General Assembly for legislation to restrict the continuous tethering of dogs for several years.

PETA opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.

Burnett’s letter to Gov. Northam follows.

Dear Gov. Northam,

News travels fast these days, and when I heard that legislation to protect “outdoor dogs” in Virginia had been signed into law—well, I just had to send my thanks. We need some good news, and this is surely great news!

Thank you, Gov. Northam, for signing this lifesaving legislation. As someone who is particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, I’m taking precautions to protect myself, and I’ve developed a much deeper understanding of the loneliness, frustration, fear, anxiety, and desperation that dogs endure when they’re kept chained and isolated for their entire lives.

You’ve made Virginia a more humane place for dogs as well as a safer place for all residents.

Kind regards,

Carol Burnett