OTHER OPINIONS It's a felony now
Know animal abuse when you see it
Posted: August 17, 2009 at 5:41 a.m.
EL DORADO — Arkansas is officially the 46th state to make animal cruelty a felony.
It was a long time coming and a great source of frustration and embarrassment for many to not have such a law, but reasonable folks joined together and got something done. The law went into effect July 31.
What a way to close one month and enter another.
Now that we have this law, it will be incumbent upon Arkansans to make sure it is taken seriously and is not used for frivolous incidents.
Case in point:
In announcing the new felony law, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel noted that "some folks have got it in their minds that this (law) makes it illegal to put a dog in the back of a pickup truck."
Don't laugh. That type of misinformation gets put out by people who are afraid certain types of laws will infringe upon their rights. And there's a reason people are fearful. Look at some of the laws local, state and federal governments try to pass.
But fear also takes folks in the opposite direction.
That's why we must all meet in the middle to make this andother legislation work.
McDaniel led the charge for the new law, which also makes cockfighting a felony, as a compromise between groups such as the Humane Society of the United States and the Arkansas Farm Bureau.
Previous attempts to stiffen the state's animal-cruelty laws failed under opposition from hunters and farmers.
The new law makes aggravated cruelty to dogs, cats and horses punishable with a fine of up to $10,000 and up to six years in prison for a first offense. It also includes a fiveyear sentencing enhancement for anyone convicted of torturing an animal in front of a child.
McDaniel said he doesn't expect to see a big increase in animal-cruelty cases, but he's looking forward to the first successful felony prosecution.
"I think there have been extreme cases of animal cruelty that have been reported and discovered, law enforcement has done what they could, but they just needed additional tools in order to be able to do more," he said.
Now we have the tools. Let's use them right.
Opinion, Pages 5 on 08/17/2009
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The city of Bentonville Has been telling home owners that they don't know what the allignment of the new 8th st project or as I like to call it WAL street is going to be but the new stop light at the intersection of 8th and J st. tells a different story. The light on the nw corner of 8th and J is way far away from the intersection indicating that there was room left for the road widening. Looks like somebody knows something and they just wont give us home owners who are going to lose our houses any information.
Posted by: Mushroom
August 18, 2009 at 8:09 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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