THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF UTAH
4242 SOUTH 300 WEST
SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84107-1415
* (801) 261-9577 fax
www.utahhumane.org
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PRESS RELEASE
RELEASE DATE: Immediately (June 30, 2006)
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Gene Baierschmidt
(801) 261-2919
DOG PUT IN 200-DEGREE OVEN; HUMANE SOCIETY SAYS, "THIS IS WHY UTAH NEEDS FELONY ANIMAL CRUELTY LAW!"
The Humane Society of Utah reacted today with outrage to the news of a Murray resident who has admitted to putting his wife's dog into a 200° oven and keeping the animal there for five minutes. More than a month later, the dog is still recuperating in a veterinary hospital from the injuries suffered during that horrifying ordeal.
HSU Executive Director Gene Baierschmidt was vehement in denouncing not only the act itself, but also the fact that under current Utah law the stiffest possible charge that can be brought against the perpetrator is that of a Class A misdemeanor. "What this scumbag did
to Henry [the burned dog] represents the depth of depravity," he said. "This is exactly the kind of mindless violence that we tried to target in last year's legislative session when Rep. Scott Wyatt (R-Logan) introduced a bill that would have made the deliberate torture of an animal a third-degree felony offense, as it already is in 41 other states. Even though the bill passed in the House by a wide majority, a handful of rural Senators kept the bill stalled in Committee and it
didn't get heard. I wish those same individuals could have had a good look at Henry when he came out of the stove. THIS is what animal-cruelty legislation is all about."
Once again, the Humane Society points out that brutality to animals is much more than an issue for so-called "animal lovers." Mr. Baierschmidt cites copious evidence showing that a great many criminals convicted of violence against other people started out by abusing animals. "When we shrug our shoulders and say, 'Oh, well, it was just a dog,' we ought to keep in mind that a few years later the same thing could happen to a child, a woman, an elderly person - any
of the other potential helpless victims of some disturbed people's violent, out-of-control impulses," he said. "That's why the legislation we proposed - and will continue to push for - would require psychological counseling in addition to severe penalties for persons who inflict torture on any other living being. That, plus the elevation of egregious acts of cruelty to felony status, would provide law enforcement with the incentive to prosecute these crimes more
aggressively. Under the current weak laws, most officials just don't feel it's worth their time to go after a case like this one, and our entire civilization is degraded by that attitude. Society as a whole is conditioned to accepting the idea that some kinds of suffering aren't significant, and certain elements of the culture conclude - correctly, in this case - that they can do pretty much anything they want to and get away with it. Representative Wyatt will be introducing a felony
animal-cruelty bill again in the 2007 legislature, and somehow we MUST make ALL our lawmakers understand why it is critical for the advancement of our entire state to put this provision on the books. What more hideous thing has to happen before they finally get it?"
For more information, please call 261-2919.
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