Animal Cruelty Sentences are a Joke

In the UK we pride ourselves on being a nation of animal lovers but our laws currently in place to protect animals against sick abuse are woeful and centre on animals as property. ‘Animal Cruelty Sentences Are A Joke’ is the latest campaign from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

Here are some of the key points of the campaign and how we can help support them.

On the 17^th February 2017, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home (BDCH) launched a huge campaign ‘Animal Cruelty Sentences Are A Joke’ with the objective of increasing prison sentences and calling for harsher punishments to those who abuse animals.

Incredibly, the maximum prison term for those convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to animals in the UK is just six months.

This is the maximum sentence anyone can received no matter how disgusting the abuse of an animal has been.

The crime of fly-tipping carries a longer prison term of up to five years.

Yes bizarrely, a crime of fly-tipping carries a prison term of up to five years, whereas the murder and sick, catastrophic abuse of an animal which can lead to long-term damage to the animal is just six months as a maximum.

A jail term that has not changed in over a hundred years.

The out of date jail term doesn’t reflect modern notions of decent ethical behaviour. What’s worse is that in 2015, 936 people received a sentence for animal cruelty offence. Of these 936 only 91 people, less than 10%, received a custodial sentence with an average jail time of just 3.3 months.

Currently, the UK sentence is the lowest in Europe.

BDCH are centring their campaign on a maximum sentence of five years to be on a par with Europe, Australia and the United States.

People who commit abuse and cruelty against animals are more likely to commit domestic violence crimes.

Research has shown that those who commit abuse and cruelty against animals are more likely to commit domestic violence crimes. In the US, 75% of women who go to domestic violence shelters said their partners also abused their pet. Having to go to one of these shelters after horrific acts like this will be incredibly jarring for everyone, that is why it is important for them to speak to a Harrisburg domestic violence lawyer or a lawyer where they are based, so they can get justice for themselves and stop their pet from being abused too. They need to be able to have a voice in all of this and be the voice for their animal so they are not targeted even more.

How You Can Help

To raise momentum of this campaign and to bring this to the attention of the Government, BDCH needs your help. As part of the ‘Animal Cruelty Sentences Are A Joke’ campaign, BDCH is desperately calling on people to reach out to their MPs to get the support that is needed.

Once BDCH has raised awareness and has enough support from the public and MPs the sentencing will get on parliament’s agenda and will, hopefully, be successful, meaning we can change the law and be the voice for thousands of animals across the UK.

To find out more and how you can help, please visit http://notfunny.battersea.org.uk/.