I almost forgot about Blog The Change.
At least three times this past week I’ve gasped in horror and said, “Oh My God, I forgot Blog The Change! Wait a minute, what’s the date? Oh, ok I have time.”
Then I thought, what the hell am I going to write about? After mulling it over in my mind and reading one too many facebook/internet articles about animal cruelty, I decided I would write about harsher penalties for animal neglecters and abusers.
One of my friends lives in TN, you may remember her. She wrote to me asking about helping with her new dog, Ginger and the issues they were having with their current dog, Candy. (If you missed it, you can find it here.) Well guess what? A puppy showed up on her deck on Friday.
But that isn’t what this post is about. Once her comment was up a number of other comments followed. Apparently she thinks this may be one of her neighbor’s dogs, because he has a slew of them and keeps them all outside, all of the time. Even in horrible weather, his attitude is ‘they have a dog house, they can use it.’
That statement alone could send me off on a long tangent, but there’s more. What I said was, “I hate people like your neighbor.”
Then someone else commented with, “Me too, Jodi. Cruel and Inhumane.”
To which I responded, “Sometimes I think people should have to pass tests to have pets, and children too.”
Well here’s the crux of it and what I was trying to get to. While the whole idea of someone passing a test to have a pet or a child is ludicrous, and would really give entirely too much power to a government with too much power already, I really believe if we had stronger penalties for cruelty and neglect, perhaps and it is a BIG PERHAPS. Perhaps, people would think twice before committing crimes of this nature.
IMO, criminals have too many ‘rights.’ Listen, if you committed a crime, you lose your rights. I’m sorry. Yes you have a right to an attorney, and a fair trial, but just how do you figure you’re entitled to have a gym in prison and cable tv?
What has happened to society? Each generation seems to become more and more perverse. Where is the shame and embarrassment of doing something you know is wrong? Once upon a time I was terrified of my father. All he had to say was, “I have a bone to pick with you” and I would just about wet my pants. Did he ever hit me? No. He didn’t have to.
Once upon a time people were embarrassed to have spent time in jail, now they wear it like a badge of honor. WTF? Really, what have we come to?
Personally I would love to see us go back to the stockades in the center of town. Yes, even for the horrible crimes. Before you go to prison, spend a day and night in the stockade in the center of town. Make sure to leave boxes and boxes of rotten tomatoes nearby, so people can walk by and pitch one at em. Of course you would need to make sure to have a guard posted because there would certainly be at least one that would pitch a rock. (Then they would have to go in the stockade alongside the criminal.)
Stop. Give me a minute to climb down off this soap box, I feel like this post has gotten off track.
I think there should be stronger penalties for people who abuse children, animals and the elderly. I also think our prisons and jails should concentrate less on the creature comforts of prisoners and more on the idea that these people are being punished.
I would like to see this issue become a federal matter and not one based on a state’s opinion. There are too many states where animals are abused and neglected with little to no punishment.
Let’s take a stand! I am starting with my State Representatives, and asking where and how to start.
Whose with me? Will you Be The Change?
My book (which I haven’t worked on yet today) has 1001 words.
This is the Blog The Change For Animals Blog hop. You can get your code here.
Intriguing, interesting, motivating and slightly humorous. I am picturing you climbing off of your soap box with tomatoes squished in your hands.
Crimes against animals is horrific and yes, there should be more diligence in identifying those that cause harm and even more harsh penalties that protect those that cannot protect themselves and have no voice. It does seem that often people do not really think twice before they act and do not worry too much about consequences.
Crimes against anyone is horrific but someone needs to speak for those that cannot. You are right maybe we need to encourage people to think more.
Thanks for stopping by, and commenting. 🙂
Oh gosh I like the idea of stockades. 🙂
I agree about having tougher criminals for people who abuse animals, but my brain says how would this be carried out? The prisons are full of murderers around here. Can we afford the expense of more? Sure you could fine animal abusers, but what if they have no money? Then there is the cost of enforcement. The city I live in found out the hard way how much enforcement animal control ordinances can cost. In theory it was a good idea, but in practicality it nearly broke the bank and other law enforcement aspects and city services started to suffer. I just do not know the solution. Well your stockade idea would be low cost and I bet effective. 🙂
You do bring up a very real dilemma, the prisons and jails are so over populated with criminals and I really don’t know what the solution would be. An animal abuser registry similar to the sex offender registry might be helpful, but it would need to be available for anyone to check. That still wouldn’t stop them, but it might help cut down on abusers.
I do like the stockade, it would be cheap you would only need one guard and a really big box of tomatoes. 🙂
I’m in total agreement. I recently read about a man who had killed two dogs in a horribly cruel way and the judge gave him community service…to clean the kennels at the city shelter!! That’s going to really change his attitude toward animals.
That’s a great punishment (she said sarcastically) all that will do is make him resent animals more. There has to be a better way!
Animal cruelty laws are entirely too lax. There is a lot of evidence that cruelty to animals in children is a precursor to violence against people later. Anyone insensitive to the pain of another living creature needs to looked at hard and cold to see what kind of acts he or she might be capable of.
I totally agree. But as soon as you single a kid out, their parents would be suing someone. Sometimes I really get discouraged.
This is a great post Jodi. And hey, it’s not a bad idea to have some sort of a test to have pets and children – you have to pass a test to drive a car….
Thanks Donna, I mean we license people for just about everything else, except for two really important things! Children and animals.
I like your idea. I do want ya to know what you’re up again. The factory farming industry and breeder industry do not want laws like this passed because they would fall under them too. I recently read that for every dollar spend on lobbying, you get a 220% return. They have money. You’re going to have to join together with people who have money, prestige, and experience working the system to get a law like that passed.
So now you see why these industries are funding an effort to undercut the ASPCA, HSUS, and PETA.
You are right, factory farming is a problem. When I do buy meat I buy free range, it is my small way of trying.
I guess I better start rubbing elbows with some rich folks. 🙂 Do you know any? 🙂
I very much agree about revised, updated laws and punishments with respect to animal cruelty. In Canada, our animal laws have gone largely unchanged since their inception in 1867. And while the laws may have been good enough then, the ideas about ways of life, companion animals, and the idea of household pets have changed a lot and the laws do not reflect that. You have to pretty awful to get charged with cruelty and neglect. And even then, charges often do not stick and any punishment received is very lax. The system needs to be audited to not only strengthen the laws, but also include greater enforcement and follow-through.
Our laws are just as lax. It has to be pretty outrageous for the public to get incensed which is sad.
In my opinion abusers will start verbally, then with animals, then children and work their way up. It should be a wake-up call to the general public that this person will only get more abusive.
One good thing to push for is a state registry of animal abusers. These are popping up across various states and increase accountability without adding to overburdened prisons. Maybe this is one way to positively engage your representative, asking for a clearly defined directive after you’ve done some research as to how and why it’s important.
Thanks for Blogging the Change!
Kim C.
BTC4animals.com
ThisOneWildLife.com
That’s awesome information Kim, thanks for passing it along. Now I have a starting point.
We are like minded, and I totally support what you want to do! I have a good friend who has taken up this cause (among others) and plans to go back to school to get a Master’s degree in a field related to this. She really wants the opportunity to educate about what’s really going on in the world of animal rescue as well as cruelty, neglect and abuse that happens all too frequently. She really hopes that she can get more people interested in doing something about this and other crimes–She and I agree that penalties need to be harsher or nothing will change. But it’s something that I would like to be a part of, and so I told her that I would do what I could to help her–I think that with people like you, and others, a difference can be made.
I would like to help too Kim and will do what I can. All you need to do is ask and if I can help I will.
There definitely needs to be stronger laws.
Sometimes I feel like we are soul sisters, I’m so darn glad I found you!
Very interesting post – I do agree that penalties are generally too lax, and we need some way to address that problem.
You got that right! We just have to figure out where to start.
Animal cruelty laws are not only lax, they are worse: vague. It is almost impossible for agencies to enforce even the existing laws because in most cases nothing is even clearly defined. Most cases get thrown out before they even make it to the court room.
The best way to get attention on these issues is to send a well-researched, well-written, stamped letter. A physical piece of paper in the mail is a lot harder to ignore than an angry email that will be quickly deleted. The more physical pieces of paper the better. I don’t think our elected representatives are evil. Many of them care deeply about these issues – or at least they would if we take the time to inform them. It’s up to us to let them know where to focus their attentions.
Interesting post!
You are right Kristine, with e-mails as a quick and easy course of writing, the written letter means even more.
There is so much wrong with the system, I think the key is to start with one thing and work on that. If we don’t start with something small, the whole thing will be overwhelming and nothing will get accomplished.
Great post!
I like the idea of licensing to own a pet, though i do understand how difficult that would be to get started. I think that being a bad parent or pet owner can be just as bad as driving poorly, but only driving is licensed. Even apart from abusing an animal, these people often create a situation in which a dog will bite someone. It isn’t the dog’s fault, but a creature that has been beaten or generally mistreated its entire life is far more likely to lash out in fear.
And in more instances than not, that dog then gets labeled as a bad dog or worse gets put down.
I can’t speak for all of the U.S.but in CT your dog is supposed to be licensed within your town. The fee is nominal if your dog is spayed or neutered $8. If your dog is not spayed or neutered the fee is $15, which still isn’t bad.
If the town can license your pet, I bet they could come up with something that would screen people.
Thanks for commenting!