Tougher Sentencing for Crimes Against Animals

ugaimes · Sep 15, 2005

I'm going to try to put some letters together. Our local congressman, Jack Kingston, REALLY pays attention to his constituents (he helped push things along in DC so Bradley could finally get his captain's license!), so I may start with him (Who would've thunkit? A Republican that I truly like!).

I am going to write my letters from the position of a victim's advocate, since I see firsthand the link between animal abuse and domestic violence. I also continually do trainings to various organizations around the city regarding the link between DV and animal abuse. I'm speaking to animal control at the end of the month. Again, small start, but it's a start nonetheless.

rockcat · Sep 15, 2005

Originally Posted by ugaimes

I'm going to try to put some letters together. Our local congressman, Jack Kingston, REALLY pays attention to his constituents (he helped push things along in DC so Bradley could finally get his captain's license!), so I may start with him (Who would've thunkit? A Republican that I truly like!).

I am going to write my letters from the position of a victim's advocate, since I see firsthand the link between animal abuse and domestic violence. I also continually do trainings to various organizations around the city regarding the link between DV and animal abuse. I'm speaking to animal control at the end of the month. Again, small start, but it's a start nonetheless.

Purr-Fect!!! You GO, Amy!!!

eilcon · Sep 15, 2005

Originally Posted by Rockcat

Purr-Fect!!! You GO, Amy!!!

We filed an report on Charlie's case, as well as the two six-week-old kittens killed by the same suspect, with the local SPCA yesterday. The police have also been notified. Some neighbors have said the suspect is already well known to the police. We're hoping that with the testimony of the vet who cared for Charlie, along with four little girls who witnessed the kittens being killed, these cases will be taken seriously. Because the suspect is only 12 years old and appears to be largely unsupervised, we're also going to notify children's services.

Residents in the area are extremely upset about all of this and determined to take action. If the SPCA doesn't make this happen, I'm going to organize
a letter writing campaign so they can let their feelings be known. This has to stop!

consumerkitty · Sep 15, 2005

Originally Posted by Rockcat

TCS had a bumper sticker contest for spaying and neutering. I know it would only be a small start, but it could help raise public awareness.

I emailed a letter to my congressman (as suggested in post #1), but I think more people would be willing to if there was a pre-written option. I don't have any idea how to set that up, but maybe one of the more eloquent writers on this site would know how.

We want Bumpy! We want Bumpy!

These are some excellent ideas! We need to come up with a slogan for the bumper stickers and figure out a way to pay for them. I can write the prewritten option for letters to government leaders and the mission statement for our organization. I'll post them on this thread for all of you to review and make suggestions for improvements.

I think it would be a good idea for us to post the letters we write in this thread. That will give us more ideas for writing effective letters to government leaders and media representatives.

I think another step to raise public awareness would be to post flyers in pet supply stores, grocery stores, gas stations, etc.

rockcat · Sep 15, 2005

Originally Posted by consumercity

These are some excellent ideas! We need to come up with a slogan for the bumper stickers and figure out a way to pay for them.

We could sell the bumper stickers, having them pay for themselves. I'm saying this, but I don't really know where to begin. I AM getting excited about it though!

Originally Posted by consumercity

I can write the prewritten option for letters to government leaders and the mission statement for our organization. I'll post them on this thread for all of you to review and make suggestions for improvements.

Originally Posted by consumercity

I think it would be a good idea for us to post the letters we write in this thread. That will give us more ideas for writing effective letters to government leaders and media representatives.

I expected to be able to save my letter, but after it said that my message had been sent, I never saw it again.

Originally Posted by consumercity

I think another step to raise public awareness would be to post flyers in pet supply stores, grocery stores, gas stations, etc.

YES! Where else ? ... the library, all of our workplaces, emails to people in our address books...
I LOVE this site and all of its members! We can do great things together!

eilcon · Sep 15, 2005

Here's the flyer we posted in the neighborhood where Charlie was abused. It also included his picture and information about the fines/punishment for animal cruelty cases in our area.

ALERT - ANIMAL CRUELTY CONCERNS

A Neighborhood Cat Helper has been working in your general neighborhood intermittently for over a year rounding up free roaming cats/kittens. The cats/kittens are fixed and vaccinated. Small kittens are adopted out and some abandoned tame cats had to be placed in new homes as well. All other cats and feral kittens are returned to the neighborhood where they do a good job of running off the rats and mice.

Putting unaltered pets out on the street creates numerous problems for the pets and the people who try to help them. Abandoned pets are traumatized and often end up dead or injured. In addition, the breeding cycle quickly results in many more animals on the street.

Sadly, on August 27, 2005, a caring resident in the 3100 block of Woodburn Ave. (area by the church) brought a tame stray kitten to me with 2 badly broken back legs. The kitten was rush to surgery and both legs were put back together again - an expensive operation. The veterinarian believes someone violently kicked this tame young kitten!!

WE ARE SEEKING INFORMATION ABOUT THIS CRUEL VIOLENT ACT. IF ANYONE SAW SOMEONE KICK OR HIT A KITTEN DURING THE LAST PART OF AUGUST PLEASE CALL THE NUMBER BELOW AND GIVE A DESCRIPTION OF WHAT YOU SAW. A $100 REWARD WILL BE GIVEN TO THE PERSON WHO GIVES US INFROMATION THAT RESULTS IN THE ARREST OF THE GUILTY PERSON! WE WILL TAKE THE INFORMATION TO THE POLICE (OR YOU CAN CALL CRIME STOPPERS, ETC). WE ARE FILING A REPORT WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.

Your cat helper is:

P.S. If you have indoor cats that need to be fixed, call the cat helper and she will work with you to get them fixed. Fixed animals are happier, healthier and less likely to urine mark in your house.

(We have just received word of another alleged act of cruelty to another kitten. A young suspect has been identified in regard to this most recent incident - and he lives on Woodburn. We are investigating this incident as well. Again, if you know of anyone torturing cats or kittens or dogs or any other animals in your area, please call. Those people will also hurt people and action needs to be taken now!)

ugaimes · Sep 15, 2005

My first suggestion to police in these cases where a child is found abusing animals is to do a thorough investigation of their family and look for signs of physical and/or sexual abuse. I'd be willing to put money on it that about 90% of these child animal abusers come from abusive homes (that's not an excuse at all, just a mitigating factor).

consumerkitty · Sep 15, 2005

We just made one step toward becoming more organized. I'm the founder and Eileen (Eilcon) is our group's Communications Director.

If anyone else wants to be in charge of a specific function please step up and volunteer.

Here is the preliminary mission statement. Please look it over and make suggestions for improvements.

Coalition for Animal Justice Mission Statement:

Our goal is to work for harsher punishments for both adults and children who torture and/or murder other people's pets. This is not only a crime against animals but a crime against people as well. The extreme and enduring pain felt by people whose family pets have been abused and tortured should be considered when determining the sentences for these crimes. These crimes should be classified as felonies and as violent crimes against people.
We aim to increase public awareness of the prevalence of these crimes and inform people that their pets are not safe outside unsupervised. We want people to be aware of this and encourage them to join our efforts to toughen the sentences for these crimes. We also strive to promote a greater awareness of the statistics that show a correlation between torturing animals and rape, murder, and domestic violence.

eatrawfish · Sep 15, 2005

Originally Posted by consumercity

Our goal is to work for harsher punishments for both adults and children who torture and/or murder other people's pets.

What about their own pets?

Also, I'm not too experienced in these sort of things, but it seems like the Mission Statement should/could be a little simpler. Although it is a good start for sure!

consumerkitty · Sep 15, 2005

Originally Posted by eatrawfish

What about their own pets?

Also, I'm not too experienced in these sort of things, but it seems like the Mission Statement should/could be a little simpler. Although it is a good start for sure!

OMG, thank you for your posts! Because of them I realized that the mission statement I wrote is way off track. The focus of it would be better for letters to media and government leaders (Showing how tougher laws against animal abusers will benefit humans).

Our mission statement should be not only about abusing other people's pets, but people abusing their own pets and strays.

As far as the statement needing to be simplified, I'm not sure what you mean. Can you give an example?

ugaimes · Sep 15, 2005

I just thought of something. If we want to change laws regarding pet abusers, that needs to happen on a state level.

Do you think we can find at least TCSer in each state in the US who is willing to write to their congressmen/senators/etc.?

consumerkitty · Sep 15, 2005

Originally Posted by ugaimes

I just thought of something. If we want to change laws regarding pet abusers, that needs to happen on a state level.

Do you think we can find at least TCSer in each state in the US who is willing to write to their congressmen/senators/etc.?

That's a good idea! There's at least 2 of us from Ohio. I would like to take a stab at the federal Animal Welfare Act too. When we write to our state reps we can use the name of our organization so they know there's a lot more than one person who feels this way.

eatrawfish · Sep 15, 2005

I guess this is what I mean by simpler is that a lot of the mission statement was justification. Which, from what I am aware, doesn't belong in a mission statement. Anyone with more knowledge of this than me, pipe up.

I guess I'd put it more like:

Our goal is to work for harsher punishments for those who abuse domestic animals. We aim to increase public awareness of the occurance of these crimes in their areas. We also strive to promote a greater awareness of the statistics that show a correlation between torturing animals and rape, murder, and domestic violence.

It still seems a bit rough to me.

consumerkitty · Sep 15, 2005

Originally Posted by eatrawfish

I guess this is what I mean by simpler is that a lot of the mission statement was justification. Which, from what I am aware, doesn't belong in a mission statement. Anyone with more knowledge of this than me, pipe up.

I guess I'd put it more like:

Our goal is to work for harsher punishments for those who abuse domestic animals. We aim to increase public awareness of the occurence of these crimes in their areas. We also strive to promote a greater awareness of the statistics that show a correlation between torturing animals and rape, murder, and domestic violence.

It still seems a bit rough to me.

Wow Sara! That sounds pretty good to me! It's so wonderful that we're all putting our heads together. As a group I think we're really going to get something accomplished here.

eilcon · Sep 15, 2005

Good news on a related topic - our local SPCA has responded and will be investigating Charlie's case. The email says the investigator will be paying his abuser a visit. Whether this will lead to the punishment and help this kid deserves and needs, we'll see, but it's a step in the right direction.

rockcat · Sep 15, 2005

I think we're going to need a website.

consumerkitty · Sep 15, 2005

Originally Posted by Rockcat

I think we're going to need a website.

I've got that covered. I can design and host it

consumerkitty · Sep 15, 2005

Originally Posted by eilcon

Good news on a related topic - our local SPCA has responded and will be investigating Charlie's case. The email says the investigator will be paying his abuser a visit. Whether this will lead to the punishment and help this kid deserves and needs, we'll see, but it's a step in the right direction.

That's good news! I hope someone can stop that kid from torturing the neighborhood cats. I'm glad you are also contacting children's services since he isn't supervised. I'll be his attendance record at school is bad and children's services won't look too favorably on that either.

eatrawfish · Sep 15, 2005

It'd probably be useful to know what states have stricter/looser laws and statistics on that as well. Maybe a chart on the website or something? I think I've seen something like that on another website...

valanhb · Sep 15, 2005

Originally Posted by eatrawfish

It'd probably be useful to know what states have stricter/looser laws and statistics on that as well. Maybe a chart on the website or something? I think I've seen something like that on another website...

There is: http://straypetadvocacy.org/html/cruelty_laws.html

I've done the research for you.

Seriously, I have read every State's animal cruelty statute and already put together the summary, as well as a more complete summary of each state on that site with links to all of the state laws. I did this for exactly this purpose - so someone else wouldn't have to go through all the trouble of doing it again.

Tougher Sentencing for Crimes Against Animals

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