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Ohio House Passes Rep. Williams Bill to Prevent Animal Cruelty
This is HUGE news, GREAT news!
From a press release from the office of Rep. Brian G. Williams:
COLUMBUS – The Ohio House of Representatives today approved a bill sponsored by State Representative Brian G. Williams (D-Akron) designed to protect animals from abuse and stop abusers from continuing their violent ways.
“Current penalties in Ohio for animal cruelty are weak and do little to prevent future acts of violence,” Rep. Williams said. “House Bill 418 is a first step in correcting that glaring discrepancy in our criminal statutes.”
The legislation features several provisions aimed at preventing animal abuse:
• Requires evaluation by professional counselor for any minor convicted of animal cruelty
• If the evaluation recommends counseling, the judge, at his/her discretion, can order such counseling to take place
• Increases the penalty for animal cruelty for a second or subsequent violation from a second-degree misdemeanor (the same penalty for a first violation) to a first-degree misdemeanor
• Enhances penalties for torturing a companion animal (probation in addition to the fifth-degree felony charge for each subsequent conviction)
• Allows court to include companion animals in a petitioner’s residence when issuing civil protection orders
“Research shows that minors who abuse or torture animals not only are more likely to continue that behavior as adults, but will often turn their aggression to humans,” Rep. Williams said. “This bill is a way of ensuring the safety of animals and people alike.”
HB 418, which received unanimous support from the House Criminal Justice Committee, passed the full House today by a vote of 92-1. It now goes to the Ohio Senate for its consideration.
Good! I wonder what “animal cruetly” will be classified as… having a dog in a small cages living in it’s own waste count??
Latest animal cruelty case exposes bureaucratic flaws
Published Sunday, November 2, 2008
As residents of the Mahoning Valley were trying to understand how an individual in the business of caring for dogs could allow seven to die of starvation and 12 to barely survive, officials responsible for enforcing cruelty to animal laws were embroiled in a jurisdictional dispute.
The owners of the dead and starving dogs discovered at High Caliber K-9 on Coitsville-Hubbard Road in Youngstown deserve better. The emotional turmoil they’re experiencing should not be exacerbated by bureaucratic flaws. We would hope there isn’t a repeat of what has occurred.
Rather than 19 counts of animal cruelty being filed against High Caliber K-9 owner Steve Croley, Youngstown city Prosecutor Jay Macejko filed charges relating to only four dogs. Why? Because Macejko concluded that Animal Charity humane agents had illegally entered the private property. As a result, the prosecutor concluded that he could cite Croley only for the four dogs that were seen from adjoining property by the agents before they used bolt cutters to gain access to High Caliber.
Had Animal Charity secured a search warrant through Macejko, then whatever agents found in the dog kennel would have been used to build the case against the owner.
The irony is that civilians can act to save animals in distress but agents acting on behalf of the state must follow the law if they expect criminal charges to be filed, the prosecutor says.
Therein lies the problem. There is something wrong when individuals, such as Animal Charity agents Kyle Zeigler and Joe Borosky, who are dedicated to protecting harmless animals, find themselves shackled by state laws that do not apply to ordinary citizens.
Disagreement
It should be pointed out that Nikole Owen, chief executive officer of Animal Charity, does not agree with Macejko’s reading of the law. Owen contends that her agents acted appropriately and, therefore, Croley should be charged with the 19 counts of animal cruelty. He has been arraigned on the four.
The dog kennel owner has said he could not afford to feed and look after the dogs that were kept in his care by their owners. He also said he cannot afford a lawyer.
But before taxpayers are required to foot the bill for a court-appointed lawyer, the prosecutor’s office should determine what happened to all the money that Croley’s clients paid in advance when they dropped off their dogs at the kennel.
Case in point: A couple from New York whose 3-year-old Rottweiler died of starvation say they paid more than $2,000 and also provided three months of food and vitamins when they left their dog for obedience training.
The couple read about the dead and starving dogs on Vindy.com, The Vindicator’s Web site, and came to Youngstown for their pet. They not only found out that he had died, but his weight had dropped from 105 pounds in late June to 50 pounds.
They have hired a lawyer.
There is a larger issue here than just the alleged criminal behavior of one individual. For many people, a pet is member of the family and leaving the animal in the care of an outsider requires a high level of trust. Therefore, standards that apply to such businesses must be strictly enforced.
The message must go out that mistreatment of animals will not be taken lightly.
Please help us we need your support – The state of Ohio animal law allows warrantless entry search and seizures where there is need to act immediately to protect or preserve life. All 19 counts of cruelty to animals should be charged. Please we urge you to write letters/sign the petition nitro foundation – please tell everyone you know. The laws in Ohio need to be changed/stiffer penalties but what good will this do if they won’t even enforce the laws that are on the books now? Please, please help. Thank you.
Yes the Ohio law does need to be changed so that the warrantless entry search and seizures for immediate action for protection of the animals should be changed. Croley should be charged with all 19 counts of cruelty to animals, plus additional charges for the ones that died from starvation due to his ignorance, also he should be made to go hungry for five days/nights, so he can see what kind of misery he put that helpless dog through, that was looking to him for food.
Case Updates
A plea agreement recommends four months in jail for the man who operated High Caliber K-9, where seven dead and 12 starving dogs were found.
Steve Croley, 38, of Struthers-Coitsville Road, Lowellville pleaded no contest Thursday afternoon in municipal court to four counts of animal cruelty. Two housing violations related to the condition of the High Caliber K-9 property at 1516 Coitsville-Hubbard Road were dismissed.
City Prosecutor Jay Macejko said the plea agreement calls for 30 days in jail on each count; restitution of $1,646 to Animal Charity, a humane agency on South Avenue; and a provision that Croley not own or harbor animals during whatever probation period – one to five years – that may be imposed.
Croley will be sentenced Jan. 22. 9 am
Source: Vindy.Com – Dec 4, 2008