Perpetrators of animal cruelty have 'no fear of the law'
3 min read
A worrying trend of animal abusers escalating their crimes and committing violence against humans is encouraged by lenient sentencing, says Anna Turley MP.
Cast your thoughts back to 1911. An era when you could see horses worked to death in the streets or the pits or the public baiting and fighting dogs. Parliament passed the Protection of Animals Act in that year, setting a maximum prison sentence of 6 months for the worst offenders of animal cruelty. Amazingly, 106 years later, that same maximum applies. My Animal Cruelty (Sentencing) Bill, scheduled for debate on Friday, will raise it to five years.
Given the leniency of the current system it is no wonder revelations of horrific acts of cruelty against animals are becoming commonplace.
In my constituency Redcar two brothers filmed themselves laughing as they kicked, punched and threw their bulldog Baby down the stairs. More recently, two men were arrested for hammering a nail into the head of a dog and then burying it, still breathing, in local woodland. In researching my bill I’ve read a plethora of horrific stories; strangled cats, a deer with a tree branch forced up its backside, a flock of 20 ducks strangled with cable around their necks, animals attacked with fireworks and boiling liquid poured on a puppy. I could go on.
In all these cases the current legal framework is not deterring the perpetrators from behaving in this way. In some respects it is helping to legitimise it by treating animal cruelty as a lesser issue. Baby’s attackers received just a suspended sentence and an electronic tag. Many others are treated as leniently despite their cruelty and brutality. Only one in ten cases with a conviction results in a prison sentence. The punishment does not fit the crime and the perpetrators clearly have no fear of the law.
An even greater worry is that these individuals will go on to commit worse crimes against humans. A growing body of evidence suggests the link between animal cruelty and violence against people is significant. Academic studies, largely from the US but also in Europe, show a propensity for people charged with crimes against animals to then turn their aggression towards human victims. The evidence shows domestic violence and child abuse are closely linked with animal abuse cases. Lenient sentences encourage this cycle of violence.
A recent report by Battersea Dogs & Cats Home found England and Wales to have the lowest sentence for animal cruelty in Europe. Northern Ireland has a maximum sentence of five years. Australia is also five and in Germany it is three. Our 6 months plus a fine seems paltry. The Battersea report also found that animal cruelty is considered less serious before the law than crimes like fly tipping or theft. What message does that send about our commitment to the welfare of animals?
In line with my bill, Battersea Dogs and Cats advocate a five-year maximum sentence. We have also received the support of a number of other charities and campaign groups, including the Dogs Trust, RSPCA, and the League Against Cruel Sports. The response from the wider public has also been really positive, and MPs from across the political spectrum are backing my proposal.
The current system is not working. If we are truly a nation of animal lovers we must protect them from harm and abuse and I hope the government will support my bill on Friday to help end this blight on our society.
Anna Turley is the Labour Member of Parliament for Redcar
Dogs Trust have responded to Anna Turley MPs article, calling the current sentencing guidelines 'woefully inadequate,' and urging the Government to increase the maximum sentence for animal cruelty. You can read their full response here.
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