Posted on 01/15/2008 3:20:01 AM PST by Daffynition
Achieving equality for cats isn't as easy as it sounds. State Delegate Jennifer McClellan found that out Monday when a legislative panel wrangled over a proposal to make stealing a cat a felony — the same as for swiping a dog.
Unable to find a solution, the chairman designated a couple of members to work on the bill with McClellan, the Richmond Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Virginia Farm Bureau and bring it back for a future meeting.
McClellan, a Richmond Democrat, opened her pitch for the legislation with a disclaimer: "I do not now, nor have I ever, owned a cat."
But for people who do love their cats as much as dog owners adore their pets, she said, Virginia law is unfair. Stealing a cat is a misdemeanor, punishable by as much as a year in jail. Dognappers can get as many as 10 years.
"All I'm trying to do is have the law reflect that if you steal a dog or steal a cat, the punishment should be the same," McClellan told the House Courts of Justice subcommittee.
Supporters of the bill are informally calling it "Ernie's Law" in honor of the kitten whose ordeal inspired the legislation.
Ernie was abducted from the Richmond SPCA's shelter last summer. Robin Starr, the organization's chief executive, said in an interview that two men asked to visit the kitten before possibly adopting it. One man put the cat under his shirt, and they walked out.
An SPCA worker got their license plate number, and the car was tracked down. The SPCA pressed charges, but the prosecutor decided the misdemeanor wasn't worth pursuing after the defendant failed to appear for arraignment.
Starr said that she had no idea why the gray and white kitten was stolen, but that cats sometimes are taken to use as dogfighting bait.
Subcommittee members wrestled with such issues as whether to add other pets, including hamsters and parakeets, to the felony statute and the notion that the law treats cats differently because many are feral.
Lindsay Potts, a lobbyist for the Farm Bureau, said the organization doesn't want Virginians subjected to a felony if they feed a cat that wanders onto their property and decides to stay.
Although Ernie got no justice, his story had a happy ending. Starr contacted the thief and persuaded him to return the kitten, which was sick and needed prescription medication. They met at a Richmond junkyard to make the exchange.
Gawd. So much for my appetite for breakfast.
What goes through dog-fighters' minds? Are they sub-human?
air
On the lam for stealing a parakeet.
It’s all because of the Va. Tech shootings.<s
Dems want this law because they’re all p*ssies.
Badumpbum!
Wait until the iguana lobby hears about this!
People let their cats roam free without licenses or tags and whine when they disappear. Enforce the laws about licenses for cats and fine owners for letting them roam free the same as they do to dog owners and maybe I’ll be sympathetic.
I prefer cats to dogs, but you are right. If we let cats roam free (and if they go out at all, that is their nature), then we have to accept the consequences of that freedom. Not to mention that a cat will sometimes decide to adopt a new family on his own without telling the new folks about his secret past. Most roaming cats who disappear have been hit by a car. Caring for an apparent stray is an act of humaneness, not a felony.
I don’t know about anybody else, but for heaven’s sake couldn’t my tax dollars be spent on something more worthwhile than species equality legislation? Virginia has more pressing problems! I should know, I unfortunately still live here, but only for 18 more days!!!!!!
It seems like a simple dollar-value calculation would be useful here.
Yes.
Carolyn
“Enforce the laws about licenses for cats and fine owners for letting them roam free...”
No such laws where I live.
> No such laws where I live.
Customer: Look, it's a bleeding pet, isn't it? I've got a license for me pet dog Eric, and I've got a license for me pet cat Eric...
Shopkeeper: You don't need a license for your cat.
Customer: I bleeding well do and I got one. He can't be called Eric without it--
Shopkeeper: There's no such thing as a bloody cat license.
Customer: Yes there is!
Shopkeeper: Isn't!
Customer: Is!
Shopkeeper: Isn't!
Customer: I bleeding got one, look! What's that then?
Shopkeeper: This is a dog license with the word 'dog' crossed out and 'cat' written in in crayon.
Customer: The man didn't have the right form.
Shopkeeper: What man?
Customer: The man from the cat detector van.
Shopkeeper: The looney detector van, you mean.
Customer: Look, it's people like you what cause unrest.
Perfect photo.
Thanks for the smile.
I thought VA was in the black since all the revenue raised from speeding fines was enacted? //sarc ;-P
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.