The Hawaiian Humane Society is celebrating new animal protection laws passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. David Ige, including one related to unsafe dog tethering.

“I am grateful to the bill sponsors, House and Senate leaders and our community advocates for supporting Hawaiian Humane’s commitment to enacting laws to protect the animals of Hawai‘i and their caretakers,” Steph Kendrick, public policy advocate for the Hawaiian Humane Society, said last week in a release.

Gov. David Ige signed House Bill 416 on Tuesday. It bans unsafe dog tethering, through use of a choke collar, pinch collar or prong collar. According to Ken­drick, using “inherently harmful” equipment like prong collars could be dangerous for dogs, as well as tethers not appropriate for the size of dogs, such as too-long tethers that dogs can get tangled in, too-short tethers that don’t allow access to sustenance, or too-heavy tethers that drag dogs around.

“Our goal as an organization was to balance the need to keep dogs safe, so that they can have a fear-free, pain-free, happy life, with the need of pet owners to keep their animals secure, which we also appreciate,” Kendrick said. “It is possible to tether dogs safely, so we’ve worked for years now with the other advocates to come up with a compromise that keeps both dogs safe and people safe, and keeps pets and people together.”

The law also prohibits the tethering of dogs under 6 months old, unless the dog is supervised by its owner or an agent of its owner.

Ige late last month also signed Act 91, which requires veterinarians to report any cases of suspected animal cruelty as well as protects them from civil liability for providing emergency care to an animal. According to the Hawaiian Humane Society, the law will allow all county animal service providers and private veterinarians to give immediate care to an animal in need, even if its owner cannot be located. Prior to the law’s passing, the animal would have to be put on hold for 48 hours before receiving care.

“(This) bill … has already helped animals around the state,” Kendrick said. “I got a call from the Big Island (on Thursday) that they were excited because they had an animal come in who was injured … and they were able to help it immediately.”

Ige signed Act 31 early last month, making Hawaii the 48th state to ban animal sexual assault. The Legislature found that establishing animal sexual assault as a specific crime separate from animal cruelty will allow law enforcement officers to “better identify potentially dangerous and violent sexual predators in their communities.”

“It’s really important for us to take these cases seriously, no matter how you feel about animals,” Ken­drick said. “Although obviously that’s our focus … (these issues) are also a threat to broader community safety.”

Other laws passed by the Legislature this year prohibit the sale of cosmetics produced through animal testing; banning the intentional release of balloons; and a law banning the intentional killing of sharks in state waters. Hawaii also joined the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, which promotes compliance with the laws and regulations regarding poaching in the states in the compact.

“Despite the significant challenges COVID-19 has brought to Hawaii and the legislative session, lawmakers made tremendous strides in passing critical reforms for animals across the state,” said Andi Bernat, senior policy director of state affairs for the Humane Society of the United States, in a release last month. “We are grateful to Governor Ige and the legislature for recognizing the importance of these issues and thank the dedicated animal advocates who made this progress possible.”