Should there be harsher penalties for dog abusers?

I think laws should be tightened internationally so that dog abusers are deterred from committing violent acts in the first place. Currently in my country (New Zealand) all abusers seem to get is a slap on the hand. It's very rare that dog abusers are sent to jail and if they are it's only for a month or two.

There is also the argument that the same people who abuse animals seem to abuse their family members.

Another issue is underage minors. I read an article last week about a bunch of 12 year olds who stole and brutally attacked a small female dog. I won't go into details because they are upsetting, however one brave little boy saw them and stopped the attack even though he could of been hurt in the process. So there are good, decent people ready to stop injustice. However the 12 year olds received no punishment because they are minors! I personally think they should be banned from entering dog parks, pet stores ect.. for a certain period of time and should be made to do community service at the very least.

 

Those 12 year olds sound like they need some psychological help more so. If they injure animals it's known that this sort of behaviour can go on to other crimes against people. I love animals and always have a tear when something happens to them.I think there should be stricter laws.

 

There definitley should be. Animals are defenseless! I am working with a group in my current state to get animal cruelty changed from a misdemeanor to a felony.

 

I agree with both of you. Making Cents good on you making a difference and working towards animal cruelty being classed as a felony.

In New Zealand we have an Animal Welfare Act which was passed in 1991. Basically it protects animals used in experimental testing, rodeos, battery farms and circuses. Sadly though there doesn't seem to be an effective law protecting other animals, like pets. Thankfully though in the last few years a variety of animal rights groups have sprung up one featuring quite prominently in the media.

Argon, my dad came to the same conclusion you did. That the 12 year olds obviously need some kind of psychological help if they resort to such brutality to feel a sense of power over their lives. On a brighter note thousands of New Zealanders commented on Paw Justice's (animal rights group) Facebook post thanking the brave young boy who stopped the abuse. It's comforting to know that most New Zealanders condemn the 12 year old and feel proud of the young hero.

 

This reminds me of a story I once read in an imageboard of ill repute (which I visit for the fighting game threads, what with that being my hobby and all).

Basically, it was a thread about "that kid" everybody knows when they're young, and they like to talk smack about video games that will never come out. You know, like, "My Dad works at Nintendo and I have Super Mario 128 which will come next year for the Nintendo 64". Those kids. Now, what does this have to do with dogs, you ask? Well, one poster talked about "that one kid" he and a friend only hung out with because he had a metric ton of video games, and because he had a big female dog that was awesome, but he didn't really care about the dog (which obviously loved him a lot). They won a game against him, or something, and the kid went bonkers, and started hitting the dog with some sort of cooking pan...they wouldn't stop it because he seemed possessed and were scared, and the dog loved the kid too much to retaliate.

In the end, the poor dog had to be put down because she was hurt all over and her life was basically pain. The kids pulled out a revenge scheme and when the kid left for some vacation, they stole many of the games from his jewel cases and sold them to gamestop, and bought GBAs for each of them and games. They really wanted to make him pay for what he had done to the dog they loved so much, and it worked, as the kid went into despair!

Still, the kid was obviously spoiled rotten, as to treat a dog like that and have so many video games, and apparently he got a very light punishment from his parents or something.

 

I think there should be more serious punishments for dog abusers.
If its kids, give them more orientations and psychological help. For adults, higher fine and/or higher punishment that will make them regret doing such abuse.

 

First, I would propose that there be an Animal Bill of Rights. We need an internationally acknowledged framework to base our laws on animals. This is because animal abuse doesn't know any borders. True, there are many local cases of animal abuse but the big-time abuses are cross-border trafficking like stealing hundreds of dogs from one country to be sold as food to another country.

Two, animal abusers who are minors must be made the responsibility of their parents or guardians. This is fair because it's the parents or guardians who are responsible for the behavior of the minors. So when a minor abuses an animal, the minor must undergo counseling and the parents or guardians must be punished.

 

This is a pretty good idea. Too bad many countries would not agree to this. For example, look at Japan and whaling.

 

Thanks for your post. What an awful child that bully was. It's sometimes hard to fathom that someone could be so cruel to someone that loved them unconditionally. I don't normally condone stealing but that child deserved it. At the end of the day though I suppose I should feel sorry for the kid as his parents obviously didn't care enough about him to spend time with him and raise him properly instead of just showering him with gifts.

 

I second your proposal. There should indeed be an international Animal Bill of Rights. Sadly however even if it were passed which would be near on impossible there would be no real way of enforcing it. For example there are already international basic human rights laws that have been passed but many countries feel that they are a law onto themselves and continue to break the laws.

 

I think we should not think about the enforcement part yet. Let there be an Animal Bill of Rights first. Then we worry about the ratification and, lastly, the enforcement. What do you think is the best way to start the ball rolling?

 

I definitely think there should be harsher punishments. I know all too often neglect and abuse are simply fined a small amount and then ignored. They're just going to own more animals, treat them the same way, and then -maybe- get caught and fined again. What good does that do?

 

Perhaps you're right and it's best to get the ball rolling instead of nothing happening at all. I think it would take animal rights organizations around the world working together to get support for a supposed bill by from their respective countries. Once a dozen or so countries committed to it they could perhaps present it to the international community. Perhaps through the United Nations or a similar organization.

The first steps the animal rights organizations should take would be to open a dialogue between themselves and to perhaps get signatures from the public in their own countries before approaching their politicians and governments.

 

Good, now we are getting somewhere.

So where are all these animal rights organizations? Is there already a common forum for them to share their views? If there isn't, then let's start one. If it can be done on this forum, good. If not, then we will have to start our own forum to do it.

The main thing is to get started.

 

Are you seriously hoping to get a movement started? If so good for you! I'll certainly help you with ideas ect.. I must admit when I started this thread my intention wasn't to solve the problem myself. However you're right everyonce can be part of a solution rather than waiting for others. Afterall if everyone waited for someone else to start things where would society be.

I'll do a little reseach and look into whether there is a common forum in existance. If not I'll make a database of different animal rights organizations both in my country and internationally.

 

Now you are talking. That's a good girl. btw you can even use this as the basis for a thesis. How about consulting your professors to see what they think about this idea?