Animal cruelty could be felony

The Mississippi Legislature is considering making animal cruelty a felony, in part due to a recent string of high profile animal abuse cases.

Mississippi is one of only four states in which animal cruelty is not currently a felony, although misdemeanor laws against the crime do exist. Miss. Senator Bob M. Dearing of Natchez has been trying to toughen animal cruelty legislation for years, starting by successfully lobbying to change the state’s abuse misdemeanors to include cats, which they previously did not. However, only recently has interest piqued enough for these bills to have a serious chance of making it into law.

“Timing is so important, and I hate to say it, but right now there is a lot of publicity out there about animal abuse,” Sen. Dearing said. “Most people with pets grow to consider them a member of the family. I have a Chihuahua, and if someone were to hurt him I would spend every dime I had to take them to prison for as long as possible.”

Sen. Dearing added that he has received multiple phone calls lately in support of toughening animal abuse laws. The new laws as currently proposed would apply to both dogs and cats, and would be punishable on the first offense by up to five years in jail plus a large fine.

Animal cruelty made major news in Hattiesburg in the past month when Ricky Pierce Jr., a disgruntled employee of Southern Pines Animal Shelter, set the main office on fire in an attempt to hide signs of burglary. Four cats died in the fire, which left many wishing the law could have done more to punish him, as none of the crimes he is currently charged with (arson and burglary) are felonies.

Another recent abuse case to make local headlines involved an animal control officer in Canton charged with killing as many as 100 animals and dumping their bodies into a creek.

“Anyone who would abuse an animal deserves to be punished to the fullest extent of the law,” said Ashleigh Johnson, a freshman news editorial major. “Furthermore, I don’t think anyone who would even contemplate abusing an animal has any place in our society; it should be treated as if they had done the same thing to a human being, so I am all for increasing the punishment that that type of person would receive.”

Some students, however, are not so sure that right now is the time to worry about these laws.

“Don’t get me wrong, I think animal abuse is a disgusting and needless crime,” said Ryan Holmes, a junior networking major. “However, I feel like the legislature has enough on their plates right now with Mississippi’s budget crises that is currently affecting the state - and particularly colleges - on such a tremendous level.”