Animal Law
- 1. Carriage Horse Protection in New York City
- 2. New York Beats Animal Abuse
- 3. Beware of Breed Bans
- 4. Calgary's Animal Laws Win the Gold
- 5. Animal Welfare Law in New York
- 6. Lab Animal Protection Under Fire
- 7. Humane Law Enforcement in Illinois
- 8. Legal Rights for Animals
- 9. Dangerous Dog Legislation
Combating Weak Animal Cruelty Laws
Kellie B. Gormly
Cases that slip through the cracks - and why.
Nobody would call a stray cat who was shot, skinned and decapitated a mineral or a vegetable. But, according to the letter of the state law in Waco, Texas, "Queso" wasn't an animal either.
That was the jury's interpretation of the law as successfully argued by defense attorneys for Baylor University athlete Derek Brehm, who was acquitted of felony animal cruelty charges for the 2001 murder of Queso in a restaurant parking lot. Because Texas law defines an animal as a captured or domesticated creature, Brehm's attorney convinced the jury that since Queso was a stray cat, he did not meet the legal definition of an animal.
"The attorney's argument was clever and, unfortunately, the jury did not interpret the law as it was intended," says Ann Chynoweth, counsel to investigative services for the Humane Society of the United States. "You'd be hard-pressed to argue that the legislature intended to not protect dogs and cats because they aren't owned."
Vague Terminology
Still, the way this Texas law is written is not uncommon across the country. The outcome of the Queso case may set a precedent for other acquittals on the same grounds. And it is only one of many potential loopholes in American animal cruelty laws that often enable perpetrators to escape punishment.
The culprits for such loopholes are not always easy to identify. Powerful lobbies in agriculture and hunting - which are especially prominent in states like Texas - can influence the writing of animal cruelty laws by lobbying for language that is intentionally vague.
"They want to make sure their industry is protected," says Skip Trimble, a Dallas attorney who is active in animal welfare work. "That's when you start making exceptions to what seems to be a pretty obvious idea - if you torture an animal, it should be a crime. It doesn't always work that way."
The exceptions for these industries include practices that, while painful for the animal, are accepted in agriculture. This includes calves being castrated, de-horned and branded without anesthesia.
Other Loopholes
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WHAT YOU CAN DO Julie Lewin, founder of the National Institute for Animal Advocacy and president of Animal Advocacy Connecticut, says the most important thing you can do is to exercise your American right to get involved. Everyone can make a difference at the most grassroots levels by writing to state representatives about closing animal law loopholes. People can also encourage others to join letter-writing campaigns and become active in political organizations dedicated to animal welfare. Says Lewin, "An organized minority often drives public policy." |
In the Queso case, prosecutors actually had two hurdles to overcome: proving that Queso was legally an animal, and proving that he was tortured. Neither was accomplished. The latter hurdle is often difficult to prove given that most states consider torture an intentional offense requiring proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
"Failure to distinguish between torture and simply killing an animal is a common issue in animal cruelty cases that results in acquittals or lesser convictions," Chynoweth says. The presence of misdemeanor animal cruelty laws in most states is another common crack that charges fall through. When a neighbor stole Cindy and Timothy Bart's two ponies and pygmy goat from their Dristol, Wisconsin farm on Easter Sunday 2002, the horses were taken out of state to be sold. According to Timothy Bart, the goat was suffocated and dumped into an unknown Indiana ditch after all three animals were kept in a trailer in Wisconsin for three days without food or water.
Although the two perpetrators received felony charges for theft and burglary in Wisconsin, they will not be charged with animal cruelty for suffocating the goat. That's because this offense allegedly took place in Indiana, where it was only a misdemeanor until July 2002, when it became a felony. The two men were also charged with felony theft in Indiana for stealing three more horses in Jasper County, and prosecutors told the Barts they were unlikely to pursue misdemeanor charges in the face of a felony.
For the same reason, Wisconsin authorities did not charge the men with neglecting to feed and water the animals because this offense falls into the misdemeanor animal cruelty category. "So they got away with murder," Bart says.
Kellie B. Gormly is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh.
© 2003 ASPCA
ASPCA Animal Watch - Spring 2003
Courtesy of
ASPCA
424 East 92nd St.
New York, NY 10128-6804
(212) 876-7700
www.aspca.org
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