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PRESS RELEASE
RELEASE DATE: Immediately (October 4, 2006)
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Gene Baierschmidt
(801) 261-2919 phone
ANOTHER CASE OF ALLEGED ANIMAL TORTURE UNDERSCORES NEED FOR FELONY-LEVEL LAWS IN UTAH
Directly on the heels of a case in which a man placed his wife’s puppy in a hot oven, another instance of senseless animal abuse has come to the attention of the Humane Society of Utah. In this latest episode, a man has allegedly scanned advertisements for free kittens, brought the animals home, and then mutilated them. The man’s girlfriend has subsequently taken the kittens, who were suffering broken bones, burns, internal injuries, and evidence of blunt trauma to the head and torso, to local animal control shelters. As many as seven or eight kittens have been turned in within the past few months and the girlfriend has claimed that all of the injuries were the result of "accidents."
The alleged abuser has an upcoming arraignment on other charges this month, and, according to police, there have been reports of domestic violence in that home as well as animal abuse.
"This is another classic example of why we need to get an animal-cruelty law with some teeth in it in Utah," says HSU Executive Director Gene Baierschmidt. "A county survey shows that 85% of battered women who enter shelters also report abuse of pets in the home. As long as brutal individuals with out-of-control impulses think that they can get away with torturing any living being incapable of defending itself against them, the violence will continue."
The Humane Society is again calling for the Utah State Legislature to pass a bill that would elevate deliberate animal cruelty from a Class A misdemeanor to third-degree felony status. Such legislation has twice been introduced by Rep. Scott Wyatt (R - Logan), and has twice been allowed to die without being heard by a few senators who personally oppose the bill. Representative Wyatt will be introducing a felony animal-cruelty bill again in 2007, and the Humane Society is throwing its full support behind the effort.
"Enough is enough," says Mr. Baierschmidt. "Forty-one other states have felony laws on the books. Incidents like the dog-burning and the kitten-crippling, that get only a slap on the wrist, make it look as though everybody in Utah must still be living in caves."
For more information, call 261-2919.
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