Pa. Animal Cruelty Laws Not Best or Worst, Report Says
Pennsylvania ranked better than New Jersey for animal protection but was not in the top echelon of states that prevent animal abuse, according to a national report
Pennsylvania ranks in the middle in a national assessment of how well states protect animals, according to a Huffington Post report.
Cases of animal cruelty in the Lehigh Valley last year included neglected horses, a dog dumped in a ditch and a dog shot to death by a neighbor. Also, a Bethlehem man was charged with raping a dog.
Many U.S. states are failing to protect animals from cruelty, sexual assault, neglect and other forms of abuse, an Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) report finds.
The "2012 U.S. Animal Protection Laws Rankings™" is the seventh annual report to evaluate animal protection laws across the United States, rating each region in fifteen categories. The sections include law enforcement, cruelty reporting and sexual assault. "Ag gag legislation" was added as a factor this year -- some states have made it illegal to gain access to a farm facility under false pretenses, punishing animal abuse whistleblowers.
The five best states for animal protection are Illinois, Maine, California, Michigan and Oregon.
The 10 worst states for animal abuse laws are:
1. Kentucky
2. North Dakota
3. Iowa
4. South Dakota
5. New Mexico
6. Wyoming
7. New Jersey
8. Hawaii
9. Utah
10. Alaska
linda thompson
10:25 am on Wednesday, January 2, 2013
That is because ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICERS DO NOT CARE
They would rather HARRASS the good people who do try and help instead of going after people who do ABUSE Animals
They are definetely not worth the TAXPAYERS MONEY
Kaos8
1:58 pm on Wednesday, January 2, 2013
I beg to differ, PA is one of the worst states for animal laws.. I can tell you that while some people may be fined...The laws in PA are I believe the lowest fines and jail time in the Country..It is nothing more than a slap on the wrist and does not hinder someone from doing it again. Jail time at max is 90days, and that is almost never given out. Fines for neglect and abuse- not more thatn $2000.... All other states are much higher than this, and with more jail time. There are some states that are $150,000 fines and years in prison... PA NEEDS TO GET WITH THE TIMES!
For more information..a very good site on animal laws is:
www.AnimalLaw.Info
www.ASPCA.Org
linda thompson
2:17 pm on Wednesday, January 2, 2013
i AGREE, PA DOES HARDLY ANYTHING TO PROTECT ANIMALS
THEY WOULD RATHER GIVE THE RESCUES WHO DO TRY AND HELP A HARD TIME THAN GO AFTER THE ANIMAL ABUSERS
Kaos8
2:14 pm on Wednesday, January 2, 2013
www.pet-abuse.com/pages/cruelty_laws.php
this is the Pet Abuse database. According to this data base, - since 1995, last updated November 2012..Pennsylvania claims to have a max fine of $15,000, and a max jail time of 7yrs...however, this information is not listed under any state law statutes for Pennsylvania under animal laws nor is it listed under Animal Cruelty cases anywhere, where this has ever been enforced. So, while really good info, it does somewhat conflict w/ what other statutes state for PA. So, if you went by this website, you could see where maybe this article would think that PA is not the worst, but it definatley is conflicting information to ASPCA Humane Officer fines, jail time, etc and statutes listed for the state.
D Sytein
11:28 pm on Thursday, March 21, 2013
Amen!!!!
Michele K
4:03 pm on Wednesday, January 2, 2013
ALDF is one of the many faces of our extremist shysters at PeTA. Don't believe anything they say.
Nazaretti
12:50 am on Friday, March 22, 2013
Enforcement is much, much more important than what laws are on the books.