Animal cruelty bill passes House Judiciary Committee
CHEYENNE Pet owners, farmers and ranchers are backing a bill designed to hike penalties for maliciously injuring or destroying someone elses animal while the animal is on the owners property or where the animal is allowed to be present.
Ranchers have had livestock shot by others sometimes solely for entertainment while pet owners have also had their animals shot or injured on their own property, according to testimony in a House committee Thursday.
However, doing so has only been a misdemeanor something Senate File 115 seeks to fix.
The bill, which unanimously passed the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, would make maliciously injuring or destroying someone elses animal a felony, provided that the animal is on the owners property or somewhere it is allowed to be, like a 4-H fair.
Read more: http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/animal-cruelty-bill-passes-house-judiciary-committee/article_fdafb613-bf4c-5c89-bc72-72799ccc47bd.html