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
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PRESS RELEASE
RELEASE DATE: Immediately (January 11, 2006)
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Gene Baierschmidt
Rep. Scott Wyatt
(435) 753-4000 - office
HUMANE SOCIETY BILLBOARDS DRAW PARALLEL BETWEEN ANIMAL TORTURE, TED BUNDY
An important piece of legislation - HB 61, "Criminal Penalty for Animal Cruelty" - will be introduced in the 2006 session of the Utah State Legislature by Rep. Scott Wyatt (R-Logan) which would make torturing an animal a third-degree felony, as it already is in 41 other states. The Humane Society of Utah is urging its 30,000 members and the public at large to support the bill via a series of billboards that, among other things, point out the link between animal torture and violence against other human beings. In the next month, there will be more than twenty-five 30-sheet billboards along the Wasatch Front; one of them in particular strikes chillingly close to home by reminding Utahns that Ted Bundy, the notorious serial killer who was once a law student at the University of Utah, began his bloody career by torturing animals before moving on to make young women his victims. (Please see attachments for billboard pictures.) The two largest billboards will be located at 3646 South going north on I-15, and at the junction of Highland Drive and Fort Union Boulevard.
The billboards direct people to the special website created by the Humane Society, www.utahhumane.org, for detailed information about HB 61. It also gives simple instructions that make it easy for people to contact their legislators simply by typing in their own address and zip code to urge them to support its passage. "Utah currently has some of the weakest laws in the country to protect animals from deliberate torture," says Mr. Baierschmidt. "That’s a fact that makes us look pretty backward in the eyes of the rest of the country. We’re hoping to catch up to the 21st century by getting this bill passed in 2006."
The issue of brutality to animals is a matter of concern to the entire community because many studies in psychology, sociology, and criminology over the past quarter century have demonstrated that violent offenders (murderers, rapists, etc.) frequently have histories of serious and repeated cruelty to animals in their childhood and adolescence. An FBI analysis of the lives of serial killers that began in the 1970's showed that most of those individuals had tortured animals as children. Other research has revealed consistent patterns of animal cruelty as an early behavior among perpetrators of child abuse, spouse abuse, and elder abuse. The American Psychiatric Association in fact lists torturing of animals as one of the primary criteria it employs in evaluating and diagnosing psychological disorders.
For more information, please visit the HSU website, or call 261-2919.
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