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Animal cruelty defined in training session at Angels for Animals
By Sean Barron
GREENFORD
If a dog is outdoors in subzero temperatures, yet its companion provided a doghouse as a buffer to keep the animal out of cold, is that a violation of the law?
It depends on the totality of the circumstances, an expert in animal-rights laws says.
“The issue is not ‘What is shelter,’ but what is sufficient shelter that is lawful,” Atty. J. Jeffrey Holland explained.
For example, a circumstance in which a small dog with little fur is in a doghouse without insulation on a 5-degree day could easily rise to the level of cruelty or neglect.
On the other hand, a situation in which large, thick-furred animal in the same weather conditions is found in a shelter that is insulated likely would not, Holland said during an Animal Cruelty Investigation Training workshop Friday afternoon.
Close to 100 law-enforcement personnel, lawyers, humane agents, dog wardens and others attended the educational seminar at Angels for Animals Inc. in Green Township.
The program offered information regarding animal-cruelty laws for those tasked with investigating and prosecuting such cases. He discussed penalties for abusing companion and noncompanion animals, notices of seizures and probable-cause hearings.
Holland, of Sharon Center, Ohio, outlined strategies for effectively enforcing Ohio’s laws.
He also stressed it’s imperative for humane and police officers to ascertain all the facts and take a holistic approach before trying to build cases.
Holland defined cruelty, torment and torture as “unnecessary or unjustifiable pain or suffering when there is a reasonable remedy or relief.”
He also mentioned the three primary goals for prosecuting animal-abuse cases: to save the animal if possible, change people’s behavior and deter others from engaging in such conduct.
Many situations that appear to rise to the level of abuse and neglect aren’t always clear, said Holland, who in 2003 worked to tighten the state’s animal-welfare laws by helping to get a bill passed that allowed second-time animal-abuse offenders to be tried as felons.
Building a case also is contingent on whether the alleged abuser was neglectful or reckless or knowingly caused harm to the animal, explained Holland.
He also differentiated between classic abusers and hoarders, saying those who hoard dogs and cats generally believe they are acting in the animals’ best interest.
“You’ve got a person who’s not evil, but might have a mental-health issue or is in denial ... but not trying to set up a factory of pain,” he noted.
Holland also said state law allows citizens to act on behalf of an abused or neglected animals.
A person is permitted to enter a property where the animal is “impounded or confined and continues without necessary food, water or proper attention for more than 15 successive hours” and provide it with essential needs, he continued.
Holland also outlined penalties for violating animal laws, saying neglect often is a second-degree misdemeanor and knowingly causing harm is a first-degree misdemeanor and a fifth-degree felony for the second offense.