Out of 50 current states in the U.S., Idaho ranks number 48 - two away from dead last - when it comes to sufficiently protecting animals from abuse, according to the Animal Legal Defense Fund.
Under
current state law, cruelty against animals is considered a simple misdemeanor, as though sadistically tormenting a pet dog or cat is remotely the same as "low-level offenses" like petty theft or trespassing. Only once a person commits and is convicted of animal cruelty
three times does it finally rise to the serious level of a felony offense - and that's an improvement that only exists because of a recent update.
As Adam Karp, an Animal Law Practitioner, says: "It was like pulling teeth just to get Idaho to felonize animal cruelty."
Sign the petition to demand that Idaho finally get with the program and take animal cruelty seriously by strengthening its laws!Now, a group of concerned residents and animal lovers are speaking out because they've had enough of this see-no-evil approach.
Calling themselves the Citizens of Idaho Against Domestic Animal Abuse, these committed pet owners and other residents are pressuring lawmakers to increase protections for animals in order to prevent heinous abuses. Their proposal is for Idaho to list animal cruelty as a first-offense felony. And it's our duty to stand with them.
Sign the petition to tell Idaho lawmakers that animal cruelty must be listed as a felony offense in order to reflect the severity of these crimes!