Animal+Cruelty+Justification+(DR)

Justice for Animal Abusers ** For every crime committed, there is always a punishment for the person who commits it. With some crimes there is a much stronger punishment then others. The justice for Animal Abusers is not as severe as someone who abuses another person, or child. Of course the punishment always depends upon the case, but the maximum amount of jail time for a person who abuses animals is five years. The maximum sentence for a person who abuses another person is ten years, that’s double the maximum sentence! “Like any crime, the beginning process begins with investigation.” Belinda from Hopewell Animal Control said. “Someone will usually call with a complaint, and then we take down address, go investigate and talk to the owner.” She explained. During the investigation they look for things like food, water, shelter, ribs showing and healthy looking hair/skin.

If something doesn’t meet requirements the owner has approximately a week to make any changes. The animal control will go back and check to make sure all changes were made. “We still check up on some cases from 2005.” Belinda explained. She explained how important it is for the animal control to do these periodic checkups from time to time. “It’s for the best interest of the animal, and that’s our number one concern.” she said.

Every abuse case investigated is different. The outcome of punishment will always depend upon the case. In some extreme abuse cases owners may be forced to surrender their animals to the ASPCA (American Society for Protection of Cruelty to Animals). Those owners who refuse to surrender their animals to the ASPCA may face even heavier fines and harsher punishments. “The big picture is the animal, and doing what’s best for it.” Belinda explained. With most Animal Abuse calls, when there has been violations there is always some sort of punishment. A police officer will write a ticket to the violator, the case will then be held in a municipal court. The average fines for animal abuse is anywhere from $500-$1000.

Along with the fines, a violator could also get community service hours given to them by the state they live in. The judge can also order the violator to be put on probation for a certain amount of time.

Another factor that factors into an abusers punishment is the type of animal they are abusing. The more intelligent the animal is, the more punishment that is given. For example if someone were to beat a dog, or beat a chimp pansy, the person who abuses the chimp pansy will get the harsher punishment because of the intelligence difference of the animal.

But when it comes to a person who has a major violation, the punishment is much more sever. With the more major cases, jail time is usually a punishment option. Jail time is usually given to a person who commits any of the types of abuse below: · Beating · Burning · Choking/Strangling/Suffocation · Poisoning · Fighting ex. Dog Fights/Cock Fights · Stabbing/Shooting · Mutilation/Torture · Hanging · Kicking/Stomping · Drowning The average amount of jail time for a person who commits any of those crimes can be up to five years. If death of an animal results from the abuse, the maximum sentence of five years is usually given to the abuser of the animal. Many people will argue that the jail time sentence is not enough for the crime. There is still much controversy and debate over the topic. “Luckily in Hopewell Valley, we don’t have many sever animal abuse cases, most of the cases we deal with are very minor.” Belinda from Hopewell Animal Control also said. “A lot of the calls we get are about horses, and most of that is owner that is not fully educated on their animal.” She explained the importance of people interested in adopting or buying a pet, to get educated and know everything about how to take care of it. In studies conducted, there has been evidence that there is a link between people who abuse animals, and people who abuse other people. It has been proven that those who have been convicted of physical animal abuse have also been convicted of similar abuse crimes towards other people, according to Pet-Abuse.com. There has also been studies conducted that show men tend to abuse animals more than woman do. There are 1,500+ cases of men between the ages of 31-40, which is the highest amount of reported cases. There are only 488 cases for woman in that same age group according to Pet-Abuse.com. The web-site also had statistics about children and the elderly abuse towards animals. 51% of all cases between children and elderly are cases of neglect, 32% was fighting, and 5% was mutilation and torture of animals. All cases of animal abuse should always be reported. When you report, you will save the life of an innocent animal. People, who abuse anything, should be punished. Justice needs to be served to those who violate the justice system. For tips on how to report an abuse case you can go to the ASPCA website at, [|www.aspca.org].

Book Recomendation:

Rattling the Cage is a story by Steven M. Wise exposing the the failure to recognize the simple and basic legal rights of chimpanzees and other animals that are forced to live in cages. They expose the abuse that the animals endure during that time, in hopes of making more legal rights for animals. It compares times throughtout history of the abuse towards animals and compares them to the modern time. His book is a strong and whitty opinion peice of writing with views of changing the laws for better overall protection for an animals well being.

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How Should Animal Abuse Crimes Really Be Punished? ** **Editorial  **   How would you feel if someone beat you to the point of near death, where your bones become broken as well as all of your emotional spirit? What would you feel that person’s punishment should be? Luckily for human beings we can voice the pain of abuse, but an animal, cannot. The ability of communication between animal and man is almost to the point of non existence. So the real question lies within, how do we really justify these heartless individuals?  The justification system is a very tricky one. All justice severed to a person who commits a crime, all depends on the degree of the crime they have committed. It appears based off the maximum sentence of abuse towards people, and abuse towards animals, that the people in charge of the justice system do not feel as if crime and abuse towards animals is the same as abuse towards humans. If you think about it, what’s the difference? It’s still causing harm towards another living thing.  The maximum sentence towards someone who is convicted of abusing an animal is five years. Compare that maximum sentence of ten years for the same crime, but abusing humans instead. It’s double! How can this be? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> In my opinion I feel that any person who abuses animals has major mental issues that need to be addressed. Any type of abuse, neglect or abandonment is wrong, towards anything not just animals. In a lot of cases, people who’ve committed abuse crimes towards animals have also committed crimes towards people. Isn’t that a common theme of a person’s actions that everyone should be alarmed about? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"> Not all animal abuse cases are physical. Neglect is also another huge problem that faces animals. Some neglect is not always intentional. After speaking with Belinda, a Hopewell Animal Control representative, one of the biggest problems is owners not being educated with the animals they adopt or purchase. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">One of the things I feel would make a difference is educating owners before they are able to adopt or purchase a pet. Setting up some sort of free class or given an informational session would be extremely helpful in this prevention. If the education is given out, then is no excuse for any sort of neglect due to being “uneducated”. Like most people will tell you, “Education is Everything!” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Did you know for a first offence fine amount for someone who gets a DUI is $500-$1,000 dollars? And that’s not for if you injure or kill anyone. Did you also know that is the same fine amount for someone who receives a first offence for animal abuse? How could this be fair? Someone who causes intentional harm to an animal gets the same fine amount for someone who drives drunk, but does not hurt anyone. This can’t be true! Oh, but it is. This is yet another sad reality of our justice systems thinking. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">I believe anyone who violates any of the animal abuse policies, even a small infraction should receive a hefty fine. Maybe it would force people to take better care of their animals knowing even a small infraction could result in a heavy duty fine. Its money that drives people, maybe it’ll drive people away from abuse knowing they’ll have to pay up. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">When you look a celebrity like NFL star Michael Vick, it’s hard to imagine someone with a very big career would have the time or want to abuse animals. In August of 2007 Vick plead guilty to charges of dog fighting based off of the investigation from Bad Newz Kennel. These dogs were beat from each other, and treated horribly. They suffered a great deal of physical pain. Michael Vick was convicted to two years in a federal prison. It is difficult to see, after hearing about what he did, how after he was released from jail he was welcomed back in the NFL and signed right away by the Philadelphia Eagles. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">If you were to put that in an average Joe’s prospective the likely hood of them finding the same job or a good job would be very difficult. Most average people in American who are convicted of major crimes usually have a very rough and difficult time of getting hired for jobs. It seems yet again celebrities get the special treatment from the world. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Although people may disagree, and feel animals are not equal to humans. Some may differ by feeling equality is equality and it is deserved by all living things.