COMMENTARY | It is terribly unfortunate, but it is a fact that animal cruelty is rampant in the United States. You turn on television programs like the Animal Cops series and are bombarded with horrific images of mistreated pets. Most of the time, the owners of the animals are hit with a fine and occasionally jail time that doesn’t fit the horrific nature of the acts.
The latest case of animal cruelty detailed in a report by WPVI Philadelphia states that on Dec. 8, half a dozen pit bulls were found dead at a home in the city’s Kensington section. The two suspected of the animal cruelty are still being looked for by investigators face what are said to be very serious charges. If you ask me, whatever punishment that is dished out; it’s not nearly enough.
Philly Metro when speaking to PSPCA director George Bengal, got a quote from him that the entire property they were called to smelled like death. Now, if somebody is believed to have killed a person, they are slapped with a multiple year jail sentence and a fine that can range in the tens of thousands. The most that will probably happen to the suspects in this case, if found guilty, is a fine that certainly does not befit the offense. Jail time less likely than a fine. There needs to be stiffer penalties when it comes to animal cruelty cases. When Michael Vick was found guilty in his dog fighting case, there was to messing around. He was sentenced to almost two years, although he served considerably less. Across the board sentencing needs to become mandatory in all animal cruelty cases. Otherwise, people that are engaging in this activity will simply think nothing of it; knowing that the worst they will likely get is a fine.
Examiner is reporting that one of the suspects fled from a second story window. Another act of cowardice by somebody that from all that is being reported did not have the decency to ensure those poor animals had the minimum needed to survive. It is cases like this that should rally the country for stiffer penalties against those who commit acts of cruelty against animals.