Rep. Klarides Takes Oath to Represent the 105th; Proposes Animal Protection Legislation
On Wednesday, State Representative Nicole Klarides-Ditria (R-105) once again took the oath to represent the 105th District in the General Assembly, and promptly used a point of personal privilege to encourage her colleagues to join the legislature’s Animal Welfare Caucus which she co-chairs.
During breaks between debate on bills in the House, legislators are allowed to use brief points of personal privilege to introduce constituents, announce milestone events like weddings, anniversaries, births and deaths, or to promote important causes or events.
“As the Co-Chair of the Animal Welfare Caucus, I wanted to take the opportunity to reach out to renew our membership list with the start of the 2025 Legislative Session, and to welcome Representative Kathy Kennedy as the newest Co-Chair alongside Rep. Matt Ritter, and Rep. Kerry Wood,” Rep. Klarides-Ditria said during the opening day of the 2025 session in the House of Representatives.
As its name implies, the bipartisan Animal Welfare Caucus is focused on protecting domestic animals and wildlife, encouraging conservation, and working to strengthen laws and hold animal abusers accountable.
This session, Rep. Klarides-Ditria proposed a bill to allow veterinarians to make decisions that are in the best interest of an animal’s health and to prevent animals from being over-vaccinated. The bill would “allow veterinarians to vary from vaccine dosage protocols when in the best interests and health of an animal, and also to administer a rabies antibody titer to determine the need for a rabies booster vaccine.”
Another bill the caucus anticipates introducing this session will align Connecticut with other state’s laws regarding animal research, testing and adoption. Still in the concept phase, an “Animal Research Act” would strengthen protections for animals bred for laboratory testing by setting parameters regarding adoptions of animals no longer needed by testing facilities or breeders, prohibiting the use of animal tests when approved alternatives exist, and phasing-in a prohibition on the sale of cosmetics/drugs that used animal testing in their development.
“Protecting the animals of our state, whether wild or domesticated, from abuse and cruelty is an important part of our role in the legislature and I’m thankful to my colleagues for their continued support of our initiatives” Rep. Klarides-Ditria said.
To see a list of bills Rep. Klarides-Ditria introduced or co-sponsored this session, please go to: https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/CGABillStatus/CGAMemberBills.asp?dist_code=%27105%27&dist_name=Klarides-Ditria,%20Nicole%20