Posted on 02/28/2018 5:24:05 AM PST by SandRat
PHOENIX — State senators agreed Monday to boost the penalty for intentional abuse or killing of pets over objections from a lawmaker who said it could make criminals out of ranchers protecting their herds.
Current law already makes animal cruelty a Class 6 felony. That is punishable by a year in prison.
But judges can designate these cases a misdemeanor. And that allows someone to be placed on unsupervised probation, with no requirement for any sort of counseling or treatment.
SB 1295, approved on a 16-13 margin, creates a Class 5 felony for "cruel mistreatment'' of a domestic animal, meaning any animal raised as a pet. The same penalty — and the presumptive prison sentence of 18 months — also would apply if someone kills a pet without legal privilege or consent of the animal's owner or handler.
The legislation is the outgrowth of concerns by lawmakers that, for many people, abusing animals is just a start.
"There is an extremely high correlation between folks that abuse animals and those that abuse children and also get involved in domestic violence,'' said Sen. David Bradley, D-Tucson.
Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, the bill’s sponsor, told colleagues that the aim is not more punishment but to allow judges to ensure that people get treated before their crimes against animals turn to crimes against people.
"These people are extremely sick people,'' he said, citing news reports that the teen who is accused of killing 17 at a Florida high school had abused animals.
"These are people with severe mental disturbances that do this,'' Kavanagh said. "These are people that need treatment.''
Kavanagh also said the measure is written in a way to ensure that ranchers are not subject to criminal penalties for how they treat their own animals.
But Sen. Sine Kerr, R-Buckeye, who runs a family-owned dairy farm, said that does not go far enough.
"The situation still affects us when the neighbor's pet dog comes and kills and maims our animals,'' she said. "And we have every right, within the law right now, to dispense with that animal.''
Kerr cited an incident where a Marana rancher ended up being arrested for killing a dog.
Kavanagh said that was the rancher's fault. He said the rancher never mentioned to police at the time that he was protecting his livestock.
"Had he, he probably would not have been arrested because it's perfectly legal to use force to protect your livestock,'' Kavanagh said. It was only at trial that the rancher first mentioned it.
"When he did raise that defense, he was found not guilty,'' Kavanagh said.
Monday's vote sends the measure to the House.
Definitely aimed at the Hispanic men!
Does this include flushing your emotional support hamster down the toilet?
People who abuse animals will abuse humans at first opportunity, so creating a paper trail on them early is a great idea. Moreover, the dog-fighting culture coming up from Mexico is disgusting. Criminalizing it will help place illegals in the deportable category, hopefully.
Government does not exist to protect non-humans beyond treating them as any other piece of property we own that can not be damaged or stolen by someone else. What you do with your own carpet, lawn, fence or dog is none of the government’s business.
‘probably would not be arrested’-—well, that’s just FINE and DANDY.
People who abuse animals will abuse humans at first opportunity...
If this means you can't kill a vicious animal trespassing on your property, or one that's attacking your pets, it's absurd.
Does this include cops shooting dogs?
“”””but to allow judges to ensure that people get treated before their crimes against animals “”””””
So bunnies and cats have the same rights as people?
Barn life for kittens is dicey at best. We spayed her with the farm vet on the kitchen table the next spring. Between cows, horses, machinery, and owls, only one kitten survived.
“People who abuse animals will abuse humans at first opportunity”
This isn’t true. People who abuse people generally will have abused animals first but they are a small subset of animal abusers (this has been studied at the university level).
One other thing, the above depends on the definition of abuse. The shelter I worked at hired a director who was an animal rights nut. She used to have pictures at her speaking engagements of abused animals the shelter took in.
She slowly worked into her picture rotation, pictures of dogs living in ordinary dog houses and pictures of dogs sleeping outside. Nothing was wrong with these dogs except that they weren’t house pets.
Later I found that animal rights nuts do this all the time. They seek to equate ordinary pet keeping with animal abuse.
Just another BS feel good law for city people.
People who value animals as much as or more than humans, and raise “the planet” or “the environment “ up on a pedestal organize into groups which commit mass genocides.
This is, after all, what the Khmer Rouge were.
This bill is socialism intended to benefit veteranarians and help set the country up for gun control. Shooting animals attacking livestock warrants punishment?
Take your gun control advocacy to another forum please.
“Just another BS feel good law for city people.”
Not all people who abuse animals become abusers and/or killers, but pretty much all abusers/killers have abused animals. If anyone is hurting animals, pets or otherwise, it’s a bad sign of things to come.
I have a 10-year-old nephew who never will be allowed to enter my home. Just sayin’...
There is a huge differences between abusing animals and taking the proper action against problem animals.
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