Opinion: We Need Some New State Laws
re: animal abuse/neglect cases
By Jim Willis - The Tiergarten Sanctuary Trust
jwillis@bellatlantic.net
www.crean.com/jimwillis
Whenever we read or watch news reports about mass
seizures of animals found in horrific conditions, whether they are
seized from a breeder or a "collector," the news report usually
concludes to the effect that the subject animals cannot be placed in
homes because they are "evidence." Depending on the situation and state
laws and the controlling humane/legal authority, the animals can
sometimes be placed in foster care. Some of those animals spend a year
or more in legal purgatory. Not even the finest shelter in the country
can equate their level of care with responsible care and individual
attention for the animal in a private home. Often that individual
attention is critical to the healing of the animal.
We need to change that because it is not "logical" and
it is not in the best interest of the animals who have often suffered
horrific abuse and neglect. We have court cases where decades-old DNA
evidence can free a convict from death row, or put someone behind bars
who has remained free for years - but we have to warehouse animals as
"evidence" to the great detriment of underfunded animal shelters and
volunteers who must care for the animals for the convenience of the
court system and the innocent-until-proven-guilty animal
abusers/neglecters. The animals are not inanimate objects who can be
stuck in an evidence locker, or misfiled, while we wait to heal them.
While the courts sometimes let the offenders off with a
slap on the wrist, that is changing for the most part. Rarely are
animals who were evidently abused or neglected returned to their
previous "owner." We have all the technology and vetmed expertise
available to us to document the condition of the animals at the time of
seizure - including photographs, videos, and expert opinions of any
conceivable number of veterinarians and legal/humane authorities, and
the written testimony of witnesses. The animals do not deserve, in view
of all they've been
through, to wait for human and legal machinations when they could
already be recovering and thriving in permanent homes or loving
fostercare.
America's animal welfare system and humane officers do
not deserve to have their time and resources exhausted at the "pleasure"
of the court system. America's judges need to start "throwing the book"
at those who would harm animals. Judges need to start levying million
dollar fines and life imprisonment for the abusers of animals, and then
I suspect the rest of us won't have to jump through hoops trying to
figure out how to provide basic care for "evidence," until we have the
opportunity to do better by the animals who have already suffered
enough.
Go on to Against The Odds
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