Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander wants to create an animal cruelty offender registry similar to what exists for sex offenders.

“A predator is a predator, if it’s against a human or it’s against an animal,” said Alexander, a vegetarian who’s found creative ways to promote animal welfare through the Rockets, which include serving vegetarian meals to the media, having the team’s dance squad wear ‘Animals Have Rights’ t-shirts and prohibiting the use of an animal shaped pinata during game promotions.

Although the proposal hasn’t been filed yet, four Houston lawmakers plan to do so soon, including Democratic Senate Criminal Justice Committee Chairman John Whitmire, Republican Sen. Joan Huffman, Democratic Rep. Senfronia Thompson and Republican Rep. Beverly Woolley.

Last year, Suffolk County in New York created what is believed to be the first animal offender registry after a string of animal abuse incidents, including a woman who’s doesn’t stand a chance for Mother of the Year award after forcing her children to watch her torture and kills animals, then bury them in the backyard.

In comparison to Texas’ sex offender registry, the animal abuse registry, thankfully, comes up short in numbers.

The state has 62,971 registered sex offenders. Since 2007, 24 people have been sent to the Texas Department of Criminal justice for cruelty to non-livestock animals, but that number doesn’t include those simultaneously serving time for an animal-cruelty felony and another crime with a longer sentence and those who receive deferred adjudication.

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