Utah Bill: Feral Animals Can Be Killed.
A proposed bill in Utah is taking a some serious heat from animal advocates and reasonable people alike. H.B. 210 (sponsored by Republican Curt Oda) would legalize the killing of any animal believed to be “loose” or a “pest.”
Under the law, an average citizen can legally club, decapitate, or shoot dogs, cats, pigeons, rodents, or other “pests” if the killer believes the animal is loose. The bill does not even state that the animal must appear ill or aggressive before being killed. Advocates worry the bill could unleash an ocean of animal cruelty in Utah.
Feral animal control should to be left to humane professionals, not untrained people who own guns, crossbows, or clubs. Animal control professionals know when it is appropriate to pick an animal off the streets for humane euthanasia and their actions can be controlled and regulated by city officials beholden to the tax payers. The last thing we need is for those who seek to hurt and torture animals to be given a license to kill.
Legalized animal cruelty is not a value that the people of Utah support and it is not something any of us can sit back and let happen.
