Alison Henry, 40th Anniversary of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Sonia Elsie and The Veggie Pilot, Tommie's Law, Animal Cruelty a Felony in Virginia!, #SaveGazaAnimals postponed, K-9 Mattie Save The Date, Five bears safe, tiger trade, mother and her three kittens dead & Dogfighting is for idiots!
PROTEST INFO:
DATE: Wednesday, May 1, 2019
LOCATION: Midtown Manhattan (Exact Location TBA)
TIME: To Be Announced
Please stay tuned for further details and mark your calendars. Please email Matties mom at: deirdre_fennessy@yahoo.com to confirm your attendance or if you have any questions.
We are looking forward to seeing many of you there! Thank you all for your continued support.
#SaveTheDateK9Mattie
#MattiesArmy
#Savek9Mattie
#GlenKuceraAbusesDogsForProfit
Governor signs 'Tommie's Law,' making animal cruelty a felony in Virginia
People convicted of abusing animals in Virginia are about to face much harsher punishment.
On Monday, Governor Ralph Northam signed "Tommie's Law," effectively making animal cruelty a Class 6 felony in the commonwealth.
Under current law, animal abusers can only e charged with a misdemeanor unless the animal dies. Now, the penalty for "cruelly or unnecessarily beating, maiming, mutilating, or killing a dog or cat" includes up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $2,500.
The bill, already working its way through the General Assembly, was named in honor of a pit bull found chained to a post and set on fire in Richmond. Rescuers named the dog Tommie before he died of his injuries.
Senate Bill 1604 passed unanimously.
The law only applies to dogs and cats, and goes into effect July 1.
Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA Executive Director Angie Gunter says it's about time.
"Often times, an animal survives as a result of abuse by a perpetrator and they don't receive a felony because the animal lived," she said. "This changes that dynamic. Now they can be charged with a felony even if that animal lives, so this is a big help for animals everywhere in Virginia."
Dan Chevez, operations coordinator for Anicira in Harrisonburg, agreed.
"This is absolutely a felony," Chevez said. "This leads to more drastic cases, not just against animals, but against people as well."
A similar bill, known as the Preventing Animal Cruel and Torture (PACT) Act, has also been introduced in Congress to make animal cruelty a felony on a federal level.
Last year, we discovered truly shocking conditions at the municipal dog shelter in the town of Ulcinj in Montenegro.
Full Story: https://networkforanimals.org/newslet... and help out here.
The town provided dog food only intermittently, workers said they had not been paid for months and when we asked about medical care, the manager shrugged and said a vet came “sometimes.” If dogs were sick, he killed them.
When we talked to town officials, they asked us to be patient because the man responsible had left. We received promises that the dreadful situation would be resolved when a new person was appointed.
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This year marks the 40th Anniversary of the Animal Legal Defense Fund. Since 1979, we’ve been fighting animal cruelty and injustice — and this is the perfect time to revitalize our efforts to spread awareness about animal cruelty, to stop animal abuse, and to ensure abusers are held accountable for their crimes.
I’ve reached out to you in the past about the story of Bella, an 11-year-old shepherd mix living in New York who was beaten so severely by her owner that she had to be euthanized. Her killer was sentenced to just four months in county jail for his crime. Only 4 months … that’s a weak punishment for his heinous crime. Bella’s life was precious and she deserved better.
Unfortunately, sentences like these are all too common — not just in New York, but across the country. The vast majority of animals are protected by a patchwork of state and local laws, many of which provide weak punishments for animal abuse — or none at all. The Animal Legal Defense Fund is fighting to change that, state-by-state, but we need your help.
Strong penalties for animal abusers don’t just protect animals — they also protect people. Studies have shown that animal abusers are five times more likely to harm people — there is a high correlation between domestic violence and animal abuse, as well as child abuse and animal abuse.
If you agree that animal abuse should be taken seriously and abusers should be held accountable, please sign our Stop Animal Cruelty Pledge today. I want to show the world that our supporters are united in demanding stronger punishments for abuse and neglect. I’m counting on you to stand with us.
A mother and her three kittens. Those are just some of the casualties of urban sprawl in Colorado. Since the beginning of the year, Glenwood Springs residents had noticed they weren't alone in their neck of the woods. Over the past several weeks they had seen a family of mountain lions lurking about, and after one neighborhood dog was killed people began to worry. That's when they decided to call (CPW). Perhaps residents thought CPW officials would be able to scare the cougars back to the mountains or relocate them to a more remote area where they wouldn't pose a threat. Unfortunately, officials had another solution in mind. They trapped the mother and her one-year-old kittens and killed them. Parks and Wildlife defended their action by saying it was their "only option." But that simply isn't the case. Colorado is a vast, mountainous state with wide swaths of unpopulated lands where these mountain lions could have been released to live a long and wild life. Instead, officials decided to take the lives of five pumas — a mother, her three cubs, and another adult. The land these animals were roaming is theirs not ours and they should not be punished simply for being the predators that nature intended them to be. Obviously, we must take the safety of Glenwood Springs residents into account but euthanization should have never been an option when they could have easily been relocated. Especially since their location could have been monitored with collars. It's too late for the five mountain lions that were killed by CPW but hopefully, it won't be for the next family of pumas that encroach into a Colorado town. Please sign the petition and demand that Colorado Parks and Wildlife stop using lethal methods to deal with animal nuisances and ask them to use relocation instead. |
Franny’s Good Fortune: How One Dogfighting Victim Found Just Where She Belonged Franny was one of 155 dogfighting victims rescued from a North Carolina dogfighting ring. Though her beginnings were tragic, Franny underwent an incredible transformation and soon found a place she could call home. See her inspiring journey today. |
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Stop
the Bloody Slaughter of Yellowstone Bison! Terrified
bison have been trapped in pens and mercilessly butchered. More of our national
mammals face the ax. Act now to stop the Yellowstone massacre! TAKE
ACTION
Canada
Goose: Ditch Fur and Down to Meet Consumer Demands! Geese
and coyotes suffer in agony for Canada Goose jackets. While compassionate
consumers increase demand for animal-friendly products, cruel Canada Goose
clings to animal abuse in the name of profit and trivial fashion statements.
Please urge Canada Goose to ditch animal fur and goose down to save countless
animals from senseless pain and death! TAKE
ACTION
Victory!
Dangerous Rule Revoked to Save Wild Horses & Burros! Last
summer, we alerted you to the shocking new rule which opened the door wide open
for opportunistic horse slaughter buyers. Implemented by the Bureau of Land
Management under a cloak of secrecy, Instructional Memorandum 2018-066
essentially allowed the sale of up to 24 horses per day per buyer, for as many
days as requested, for just $25 each. With your help, we put a stop to
it! READ
MORE
Don Lichterman
Sunset Corporation of America (SCA)
Sustainable Action Network (SAN)