Animal Cruelty Pledge
Action Alert from All-Creatures.org

FROM

ALDF AnimalLegal Defense Fund
December 2017

ACTION

Animal cruelty is a serious crime. Animal abusers are five times more likely to hurt other people. Strong sentences for abusers protect people and animals alike. Robust cruelty laws keep our communities safer for everyone.

Stand up and be heard. Sign our petition if you agree that animal abusers should be held accountable.

I believe animal cruelty should be taken seriously and the punishment should fit the crime – abuse an animal, go to jail.

The minimum sentences in place in New York now can result in more jail time for hitting a car with a baseball bat than beating a dog to death with a shovel.

Please sign and share THIS ONLINE PLEDGE!

INFORMATION

I wanted to give you a little more detail about what the Animal Legal Defense Fund is doing to protect animals just like Bella.

We are using Bella’s tragic case to highlight the inadequacies of New York's animal cruelty laws, though the problem is not unique to New York. The animal cruelty laws in many states punish those convicted of crimes against animals more leniently than those convicted of property crimes. For example, the minimum sentences in place in New York now can result in more jail time for hitting a car with a baseball bat than beating a dog to death with a shovel. That is not OK.

Animal cruelty laws are created – and modified – by your state’s legislature. The animals need your help to elevate their status under the law in each state. We need to get elected state officials talking about how we can improve animal protection—and reinforce how serious animal crimes are in predicting further criminal behavior.

Many legislative sessions open in January, and there is much to do.

What Michael Gallagher did to Bella:

They were sure she was dead.

Bella, the 11 year-old Shepherd mix, had been shoved into a garbage bag and beaten with a shovel. Her owner, Michael Gallagher, had first tied a zip-tie around her neck before he began hitting her. When neighbors interceded, and Gallagher fled, they were shocked to see that the garbage bag was moving. Somehow, Bella was still alive.

Although they rushed her to a veterinary hospital, her injuries were too severe — and Bella had to be euthanized.

New York prosecutors pursued the maximum sentence for Gallagher’s crime, after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of aggravated cruelty to animals.

Believe it or not, Gallagher will spend just four months in county jail for his crime!


Thank you for everything you do for animals!


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