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Letter: Animal welfare laws woefully inadequate
Op-Ed · March 17, 2017
The editorial by Stuart Clark in the March 8, 2017, Tipton Conservative newspaper regarding the woefully inadequate Iowa Animal Welfare Laws was spot on.
The horrific neglect of the dog named “Hope” that was left near a Tipton dumpster was spotlighted in recent news. The dog was taken to a veterinarian, but died.
As he pointed out in his editorial, the only charges that could be filed by the Tipton Police under current Iowa law (“animal neglect causing death”) carry a fine of up to $1,875 and up to a year in prison. And a second charge, “Abandonment of Animals,” which carries a maximum penalty of not more than $625 and up to 30 days in jail, was filed.
A recent incident in Johnson County, Iowa, published in many area newspapers, reported a person tortured an animal with that animal having multiple fractures and injuries in various stages of healing. The vet bills that resulted were nearly $6,000. The animal is expected to recover. That person was charged with “animal torture,” which is punishable of up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
Isn’t it ironic that under current Iowa Animal Welfare Laws, persons can “neglect an animal resulting in death” and incur significantly lower penalties than a person who abuses an animal that lived and is charged with “animal torture”? It is because of the way the Iowa law is written and authorities can only bring charges as defined under the current law.
Iowa Senator Brad Zaun, R-Polk County, has introduced a bill (Senate File 313) that will significantly improve Iowa Animal Welfare Laws. The bill is now with the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which he is chair. This bill strengthens the current law and very importantly, because Iowa is heavily influenced by agriculture interests, does not impact farm livestock and has language that excludes farm livestock. Those interests fall under another chapter of the Iowa Code.
I strongly urge your readers to contact their legislators and encourage them to support Senate File 313. A phone call, a letter, e-mail or text carries a great deal of weight with those representatives.
Respectfully submitted,
Ted Pence
Tipton
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