Representing Animals

Tag: animal cruelty

It’s legal to eat dogs and cats in Pennsylvania

October 29, 2014 / / 0 Comments

House Bill 1750 has been in the news lately.  Supported by 75% of PA residents, the bil banned live pigeon shoots and other animal cruelty offenses including eating cats and dogs.  According to most reports, the NRA lobby killed the bill (by blocking the vote) because, according to them, “These types of activities have been held in the Keystone State for more than a century, and participants are law-abiding, ethical shooting enthusiasts, hunters and sportsmen. ”

Sources for this post

http://www.mcall.com/opinion/white/mc-bw-pennsylvania-pigeon-shoot-20141018-column.html

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/10/27/3584626/it-is-still-legal-to-breed-dogs-for-human-consumption-in-pennsylvania-thanks-to-the-nra

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/pets/House-battle-over-live-pigeon-shoots-goes-down-to-the-wire-NRA-prevails.html

Legal Rights of Animals

October 3, 2014 / / 0 Comments

In the wake of responses to Monday’s article (the topic of an earlier post of mine) about public outcry against the video in which a man kicks a stray cat, the NYT has posed the following question:

Animal cruelty can be charged as a felony in all 50 states, and stiffer penalties have grown more common. But what factors should lead to vigorous prosecution of animal abusers and how extensive should animals’ legal rights be?

Visit this page to read responses by prominent animal welfare and animal ethics experts.  I think you’ll be surprised by some of their answers.

Punishing animal cruelty

October 2, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Here’s an interesting piece from Monday’s NYT which provides an overview of some recent debates about appropriate punishment for animal cruelty.  Laws against animal cruelty vary widely, and perpetrators tend not to receive very serious sentences.  (Michael Vick is a good example–he wasn’t charged with animal cruelty, but instead with running an illegal dog fighting operation.  You can read more about the specific charges here.)

As I read this article, I was struck in particular by this image of the cat, looking straight at the viewer.  This is a portrait of an individual, and therefore harder for us to see as a “stray cat,” or as Alice Walker might say as “just an animal.”

Screen shot 2014-09-30 at 12.27.25 PM

Sources for this post

Clifford, Stephanie.  “He Kicked a Stray Cat and Activists Growled.”  NYT.  9/20/14.  Print

Nonhuman Rights Project.  Website.

Walker, Alice.  “Am I Blue?” Tom Regan and Andrew Linzey, eds.  Other Nations:  Animals in Modern Literature. Baylor UP, 2010.

 

 

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