Last month, the General Assembly in Virginia voted to increase and impose penalties for animal abuse, a development that animal welfare advocates are pleased by. The bill that has stood out the most is SB 1604, otherwise known as Tommie’s Bill, named after a Pitbull that was recently set on fire in a Richmond park for entertainment. This bill states that, “any person who tortures, willfully inflicts inhumane injury or pain not connected with bona fide scientific or medical experimentation, or cruelly and unnecessarily beats, maims, or mutilates any dog or cat that is a companion animal whether belonging to him or another and as a direct result causes serious bodily injury to such dog or cat is guilty of a Class 6 felony.” Therefore, anyone who purposefully tortures and eventually kills a dog or a cat will be guilty to a Class 6 Felony—a felony that requires imprisonment no less than one year and no greater than 5. This is a huge step up from the previous penalty of a misdemeanor.
Two more animal related bills that were passed were HB 1625 and HB 1626. HB 1625 requires that animal shelters provides shade for dogs and cats in the summer and a windbreak in the winter. HB 1625 allows animal control officers to confiscate any tethered animals that are suspected of being used for fighting. Several other bills were brought up, but killed by Senate.
Although these bills were only passed in Virginia, it sets an example for other states. Animal activists can use this opportunity to press their states’ governments to increase penalties for animal abusers. Currently, North Dakota, Utah, Wyoming, Iowa, and Kentucky are among