HUMANE SOCIETY DECRIES FAILURE OF FELONY
ANIMAL-TORTURE BILL IN STATE SENATE

Utah still has some of the weakest animal-cruelty laws in the nation, thanks to the failure of the 2006 state legislature to allow HB 61 to pass out of the Senate Rules Committee.

That bill - "Criminal Penalty for Animal Cruelty" - was introduced in the 2006 session of the Utah State Legislature by Rep. Scott Wyatt (R-Logan) and would have made torturing an animal a third-degree felony, as it already is in 41 other states. The Humane Society of Utah threw its support behind the proposal and also urged its 30,000 members and the public at large to support the bill. "We did everything we could to bring people’s attention to this issue and educate the public about why animal torture is a problem that affects our society as a whole," said HSU Executive Director Gene Baierschmidt. The Humane Society paid to erect a series of billboards that, among other things, pointed out the link between animal torture and violence against other human beings.

"While forty-one other states have felony animal-cruelty provisions in their laws, Utah has traditionally rejected attempts to come up to that standard. Nevertheless, we did have hopes that this year might be the year that change could be effected," said Mr. Baierschmidt. "The bill was supported by eloquent editorials in both of the state’s major newspapers, the legislature was overwhelmed by messages of support for HB 61 from the public, and several Representatives, Senators, and other influential members of the community responded to constituents with strongly favorable comments."

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.

In spite of this legislative setback for the second year in a row, the Humane Society expresses its heartfelt thanks to everyone who took the time to contact legislators urging support of HB 61; to the many legislators who did indeed support the bill; and most of all to Representative Wyatt for his valiant efforts to get this bill passed. "Representative Wyatt told us that if the bill failed in the 2006 session, he will try again next year," said Mr. Baierschmidt. "This is courage at its finest, and we are proud to have worked with him for this important cause."