STURBRIDGE, Mass. - Animal advocates are looking to ban people convicted of animal cruelty crimes from owning an animal for at least five years, or longer if a court deems it reasonable.

MSPCA law enforcement said it's a proposal they support.

They helped arrest a man charged with 96 counts of animal cruelty in Sturbridge earlier this month.

MSPCA law enforcement director, Chris Schindler, said this case is on the larger scale of similar situations they deal with.

It also wasn't the first time they dealt with the suspect, Andrew Sebastiano.

He previously pled guilty to animal cruelty charges in 2021.

"There needs to be some modifications to our current statutory framework for animal related crimes that can more fully encompass, not only while we do have something for subsequent offenses, but even on the first offense, depending on the type of crime addressing those based on what the offense is,” said Schindler. “What exists currently is that all crimes are, for the most part, treated equally. We have some sub statutes, but for the general bucket of animal cruelty related crimes and offenses, all things are equal. And as we know, not all crimes are equal. And certainly not all crimes against animals are equal."

In this recent case, authorities said they found a total of 96 animals, including chicken, geese, pigs, ducks and rabbits. 

Sebastiano was arraigned Wednesday on 96 charges of animal cruelty.

He was held without bail and is due back in court April 1^st.