Animal cruelty bill — it’s over
Wed, Jan 28, 2009
Senate Bill 77 by Sen. Sue Madison, D-Fayetteville, the anti-animal cruelty bill, passed the House 88 to 9 with one voting “present.” The Senate formally gets to send the bill to the governor, and it made preparations for that this afternoon. Expect the announcement of a signing ceremony soon.
Facing the inevitable in the brief House debate — the bill had more House sponsors than it needed votes to pass — Rep. Roy Ragland, R-Marshall, still stood up for his constituents in his very rural district and voiced concerns that the bill would be expanded in future years to restrict farming operations.
All Benton and Washington county House members voted for it. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, was among those voting against it. The one voting “present” was Rep. Stephanie Flowers, D-Pine Bluff.
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Tags: Animal Cruelty
February 2nd, 2009 at 4:07 am
Kudos to the supporters of this bill. Its time we all evolved beyond our moral primitivism and realized that animal cruelty and neglect are serious crimes. Our humanity is defined by the way we treat the earth and the animals in it. Even if one is not particularly found of animals, If we are kind, considerate and fair in our dealings with them, if we simply respect them for what they are,….it would be a better world not only for the animals but for us humans too! These same qualities or abilities about us should carry over to our fellow human beings…..same deal with them too. We do not have to like a person to know that we should nevertheless, treat him fairley and respect him as a fellow human being and creature of this earth. A good rule of thumb is to never cause anything any harm, the environment, humans or animals.