Getting Away With It

​www.bbc.com/news/uk-40868627?intlink_from_url=http://www.bbc.com/news/topics/14745d1f-885d-4b9f-b28a-24540e7beb15/animals&link_location=live-reporting-story

I found this story this morning and after reading it I realized it was right in line with everything I've been saying about animal cruelty charges. The story comes from the U.K. and it reports that almost 92% of animal cruelty convictions avoid jail time. It also reports that the current laws only see a maximum sentence of 6 months in jail which is the lowest in all of Europe. Knowing that very few cases see jail and that the maximum sentence is so miniscule, it is evident that there is a problem with the current system in the U.K.

With that being said, the same problems are happening here at home as I've reported in the past. Unfortunately, jail time doesn't accommodate convictions as often as it should and this is a real problem. Our punishments for convictions are harsher than those in the U.K but we will struggle to see jail time doled out as often as it should be in animal cruelty cases.

The problem with this is without an example being set, these things are going to continue happening. Animal cruelty is a serious problem and unless it is treated as a serious problem, there is no deterrent from committing the crime. Laws are put in place to deter someone from committing a crime, punishments that associate a conviction should be adequate and support the nature of the crime. As I've said, if there are little to no punishments associated with the crime, what is there to stop someone from taking part in animal cruelty?

In my opinion, animal cruelty needs to be viewed as a serious crime. Someone who abuses, neglects, exploits, or tortures a defenseless, innocent animal, needs to be punished to the full extent of the law. Jail time must be associated with animal cruelty simple as that. Without jail time, what kind of punishment is that? When you consider that any kind of crime against an animal is comparable to a crime against a child, it's hard for me to fathom that the punishment doesn't support the nature of the crime. Things most definitely need to change.

To read the full story, visit the link at the top of the post. What do you guys think? Do you think jail time should be mandatory for animal cruelty convictions or do you feel the current system is working? Would love to get your comments!


HAPPY VEG