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Animal cruelty issue set for next session, Sunday, Apr 29, 2007 By Doug Thompson Arkansas News Bureau FAYETTEVILLE - The opposing sides in the fight to make animal cruelty a felony figure to take up two years from now where they left off during the recent regular session, which produced no new penalties for brutalizing dogs, cats and horses. Sen. Sue Madison, whose bill to make extreme cruelty to those animals a first-time felony died in the House late in the session, says she plans to introduce similar legislation early in the 2009 General Assembly. "I filed the bill fairly late in the session, and have to take the blame for that," Madison, D-Fayetteville, said at a recent legislative forum hosted by the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce. "I was naive, which I shouldn't be by now," said Madison, whose legislative service began in the House in 1995. "I thought we could come up with a bill that everybody would love." The bill's chief opponent, the Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation, maintained the organization met the bill's advocates at least halfway, noting its opposition to any animal cruelty legislation in previous sessions, but said a first-time felony is too harsh. Madison's Senate Bill 777 passed the Senate 21-9 on March 20, just two weeks before the end of the session, after being recommended by the Senate Judiciary Committee. But it was assigned to the House Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee, where Farm Bureau has considerable clout. The measure never made it out of the committee in the waning days before lawmakers recessed April 3. Farm Bureau objected primarily to Madison's first-time felony provision. The state's largest farm lobby favored an alternative - House Bill 2788 by Rep. Rick Saunders, D-Hot Springs, which would have made a first-time offense a misdemeanor. Opponents of Saunders' bill argued it would have weakened support for stronger animal cruelty measures in future sessions. Saunders acknowledged in testifying for his bill in committee that he preferred Madison's stronger legislation and had waited to see if it would pass before pushing his own measure. Saunders' bill passed the House but stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Farm Bureau rejected the first-time felony provision in Madison's bill, which would have made aggravated cruelty a Class D felony, punishable by up to 6 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. It noted that the misdemeanor in Saunders' bill could land a first-time offender in jail for up to a year. Farm Bureau spokesman Rodney Baker said most states with anti-cruelty laws use the misdemeanor-first principle. "There are 40 states where some sort of cruelty to animals is a felony, and in 22 of them it's a felony on the second offense. That's the majority. A misdemeanor first offense is not out of line," Baker said in a telephone interview. "A year in jail taken out of someone's life is a significant event. If it happens again, then a pattern's been established." The organization also took issue with other provisions of Madison's bill, he said, involving abandoned dogs, for example. If a person defends himself, his livestock, his dog or cat or someone else against a stray or unrestrained animal, he could find himself facing a felony charge, according to Baker. The difference in penalties was not the only difference between the House and Senate bills, Baker said. Saunders' bill included a provision that would require a certified, trained law enforcement officer to make an animal cruelty arrest, he said. Under current law, which only allows misdemeanor arrests, a member of an organization to prevent cruelty to animals can issue an arrest citation, he said. |
