Pets in New Jersey may require to wear seat belts

The city of New Jersey has been introduced with a state bill that would require drivers to secure pets in seat belts, or pay fines up to 1,000 dollars.

New Jersey Assemblywoman L. Grace Spencer, who owns a Pomeranian, five cats and a rabbit, introduced the state bill, ABC News reported.

According to Bloomberg, the 1,000-dollar fine would be imposed only in extreme cases of animal cruelty, such as keeping a pet unsecured in the bed of a pickup truck.

The fines would not apply to pets kept in crates.

Endorsed by New Jersey's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, legislation to require seat belts for pets has been in discussion in the state at least since summer.

Not that such a bill doesn't have its critics, who argue that more attention should be paid to the state's budget deficit and 9.9 unemployment rate.

But Spencer defended the bill saying, lawmakers are "taught to multi-task."

"This doesn't limit my ability to address other issues for the people of New Jersey," she said.

Other states, such as Hawaii, Connecticut, Illinois and Maine have banned motorists from driving with pets in their laps, but New Jersey is apparently the first state that requires pets be strapped in.

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