PRESS CONFERENCE
THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF UTAH
4242 SOUTH 300 WEST
SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84107-1415
(801) 261-2919 phone • (801) 261-9577 fax
www.utahhumane.org
PRESS RELEASE
RELEASE DATE: Immediately (February 6, 2008)
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Gene Baierschmidt (801) 261-2919 phone
HUMANE SOCIETY CALLS PRESS CONFERENCE ---
SB 117 MUST BE STOPPED
On Thursday, February 7th, at 12:00 noon, the Humane Society of Utah and the Animal Advocacy Alliance of Utah will hold a press conference inside the lobby of the Senate East Building (just west of the cafeteria) to explain why it is imperative that SB 117, sponsored by Sen. Allen Christensen (R-Ogden), must be blocked. HSU Executive Director Gene Baierschmidt says, "This bill would be a disastrous setback for animal legislation throughout Utah; it would put the existing code back by at least half a century."
The Humane Society provides the following arguments for its stand:
SB 117 adds numerous new exclusions for prosecution of cruelty toward livestock, poultry, domestic furbearers, circus and rodeo animals, and many others so that they would no longer have any protection whatsoever from possibly abusive owners, their employees, or others in contact with those animals.
Under the definition section of this bill, the term "animal" does NOT include — to name just a few examples — cattle, horses, sheep, goats, pigs, and the like, eliminating even the basic level of humane treatment provided under the current code. Thus, cases that have recently been prosecuted, like the dragging and injuring of a donkey, the dragging of a bull behind a pickup truck, and the stomping of a pheasant on a football field, could not be considered as chargeable crimes. If SB 117 were to pass, Utah would have the very weakest animal-protection laws in the entire United States of America.
Christensen’s bill also reduces the minimal protection afforded to cats, dogs, and other domestic pets. Under SB 117, allowing an animal to freeze or starve to death would no longer be considered cruelty, but only simple neglect. Individuals could have the legal right to shoot a neighbor’s dog if the animal only dug in a newly-planted lawn, for example.
"We also object to the manner in which this bill addresses the issue of animal torture," says Mr. Baierschmidt. "In SB 117, a person would have to commit animal torture twice within a five-year period before he could be charged with a felony-level offense. Under this scenario, a person who had previously been convicted of animal torture could set a dog on fire in front of a group of people and still only be charged with a misdemeanor as long as he did it exactly five years or more after the first offense. A law that can’t be enforced the first time it’s broken is no law at all."
The Humane Society’s major contention is that SB 117 is a bad law for animals and must not be allowed to pass. Says Mr. Baierschmidt, "The very idea that the provisions of this bill could even for a moment be considered by a legislative body anywhere in the world today is, in a word, appalling. We call on the community — 74% of which favors laws that would IMPROVE, not WEAKEN, animal protection — to let their lawmakers know that it cannot be tolerated."
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