Target: Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee
Goal: Pass legislation to make the punishments for animal cruelty more consistent and severe in Rhode Island
The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) recently ranked Rhode Island ninth in animal protection laws. Although the ranking itself isn’t alarming, what the ALDF doesn’t take into account is how well the laws are actually enforced. Throughout the past decade some of the most horrific acts of animal cruelty in the nation have been committed within Rhode Island’s borders. Animal rights activists blame these crimes on the state’s failure to enforce current laws. Sign this petition to ensure your voice is heard on behalf of the animals of Rhode Island.
It’s a story that keeps popping up all over the country—severe cases of animal cruelty are becoming overwhelming because of weak penalties and inconsistent law enforcement. During the last ten years Rhode Island saw cases of dogs and cats being shot, kicked, strangled, thrown from buildings, poisoned, and even stabbed to death with a pickaxe. Despite the severity of these crimes the majority of the charges handed out were misdemeanors. Many cases never reached the courts at all.
Animal welfare groups all over the state, such as the Defenders of Animals in Rhode Island, have been pushing for more severe punishments to help put an end to abuse, but they need our help.
Please sign the petition below to support tougher animal cruelty laws in Rhode Island.
Dear Governor Chafee,
Over the last decade Rhode Island has been home to some of the most violent acts of animal cruelty in the country, and the problem doesn’t seem to be going away. The Animal Legal Defense Fund recently ranked the state ninth in animal protection laws. The cause lies in both the strength of the current laws and an inconsistency in enforcing them. Many of the cases of animal cruelty in your state never even make it to court and those that do rarely see punishment beyond a misdemeanor.
Animal abuse and neglect will never stop if it continues to be treated with such inconsistency and insignificance. Animal welfare organizations in Rhode Island are pushing hard to reform these laws but they need more support. Please give the animals in Rhode Island a voice and work toward not only making the punishment for animal cruelty more severe, but also ensuring that the laws will be enforced consistently. Lives depend on it.
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: bloomberries via Flickr