North Dakota rejects animal cruelty measure
North Dakota voters turned down a measure that would have made cruelty to dogs, cats and horses a felony, leaving it one of just two states without felony penalties for mistreating animals.
The other is its neighbor, South Dakota.
A citizen initiative on Tuesday that would have made animal cruelty punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine was defeated by nearly a 2-1 margin.
That means animal abuse remains a misdemeanor, and the most severe punishment for cruelty in the state will continue to be a year in jail and a $2,000 fine.
North Dakota’s two major farm groups opposed the measure, saying it was vague and poorly worded, according to the Associated Press.
The measure would have made it it a class C felony “to maliciously and intentionally harm a living dog, cat or horse.”
North Dakotans to Stop Animal Cruelty says it plans to to continue its efforts to change the law.
(Photo: From the Facebook page of North Dakotans to Stop Animal Cruelty)
Posted by jwoestendiek November 8th, 2012 under Muttsblog.
Tags: 2012, abuse, animal cruelty, animal welfare, animals, cats, cruelty, cruelty to animals, dogs, election, farmers, felony, horses, increase, measure, misdemeanor, north dakota, north dakotans to stop animal cruelty, opposition, penalties, pets, referendum, vote, voter
Comments
Comment from lisa gallazzi
Time November 8, 2012 at 8:19 am
the law needs to change we are supposed to live in a civilized society so to do nothing about animal abuse is very very wrong – make the law and start fining and jailing people who commit the atrocious crimes against our animal brother and sisters !!
Comment from smoketoomuch
Time November 8, 2012 at 11:39 am
Ditto!
Comment from Day
Time November 9, 2012 at 12:33 pm
While I don’t consider myself a “North Dakotan” since I’ve only lived here 5 months and the locals certainly consider us “outsiders”, I think people should truly research before they you’re their mouths. First off, it is still a misdemeanor and punishable with jail time and fines for animal cruelty. It’s just not a felony. Second, they did not tell you that the animals actually have to DIE for it to be a felony…how does that PROTECT the animals if they are already dead? Third, Measure 5 was very narrowly written and spearheaded by the HSUS who donates LESS than 1% of their MILLIONS of dollars of donations to actual animal shelters. In 2008 they took in over 85 million dollars in donations and 43% of it went to salaries and bonuses, and the bulk of the remainder went to political campaigns like Measure 5. They spent over $900,000 dollars of North Dakotans donations on this campaign, do you know what the shelters could have done with that money? Fourth, a more comprehensive law is being written by legislature here in the state that actually is protecting animals instead of punishing after death. Come on people, do your research before judging.
Comment from My Pet Shop
Time November 9, 2012 at 12:40 pm
I agree, North and South Dakota need to step it up. Being an avid animal lover, this is so upsetting and disheartening. I wanted to share a link with you http://www.petclubhub.com We are a proud supporter of The Humane Society “End Animal Cruelty & Fighting” campaign. A portion of proceeds are donated to help us take action to strengthen laws to protect animals and to prevent animal abuse. Please help these poor animals who have no control over their ongoing abuse, but we can all help them together!
Comment from Celia
Time November 26, 2012 at 12:28 pm
I question what the reason is for shooting down this measure? Is it more to do with domestic animals (pets) or livestock? I certainly hope in the near future North Dakota will change their tune on this!
I am strongly committed to ending animal cruelty, including declawing domestic cats. In fact, I’ve started a petition to stop a local pet store in my area (Madison, WI) from declawing all cats and kittens they sell/adopt. If you’re interested, I’d love it if you’d check it out! http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/animart-please-stop-declawing-your-kittens-and/
Comment from Caroline
Time November 8, 2012 at 8:17 am
Once again it is the farming interests that oppose any kind of protection for animals against cruelty. You have to wonder what is wrong with these people. Shame on North and South Dakota for dragging their feet on this issue!