As of Jan. 1, 2016, a law concerning animals has been added to the list of new Illinois laws titled “Cruelty to Animals in Front of a Child.” This new law can be defined as: “In addition to any other penalty provided by law, a person convicted of a cruel treatment of animals violation upon a pet in the presence of a child shall be subject to a fine of $250 and ordered to perform community service for no less than 100 hours,” according to the Joliet Patch.
For years, the FBI has categorized animal abuse as “other” along with a variety of lesser crimes. By doing this, cruelty is hard to find, hard to count and hard to track. As of this month, the FBI has announced that they will be classifying animal cruelty as a Group A felony with its own category – similar to the way crimes like homicide, arson and assault are listed.
This change to the way animal cruelty will be categorized in the state of Illinois will help law enforcement keep track of crime related to animal abuse. Incidents and arrests will be reported by law enforcement officials in four areas: simple or gross neglect; intentional abuse and torture; organized abuse, including dogfighting and cockfighting; and animal sexual abuse, according to an article in Huffington Post.
“I don’t believe this law will make a difference,” said Emily Alaimo, sophomore. “The fine is relatively small and it is not significant enough overall to give people second thoughts about abusing animals.”
Alaimo is an animal rights activist and the biggest way she advocates for animal rights is by spreading the message of veganism and decreasing the consumption of animal products. Alaimo is also active with Action for Animals, an animal welfare organization, by helping to flier in various communities and donating money. She is also the president of NCC’s Green Scene and believes all life on earth has value.
“I feel that people will abuse animals whether there is a $250 fine or not,” said Hannah Jurik, senior. “I think the main reason this law was established is because it is really traumatizing for children to see an animal getting abused.”
Stemming directly off of that thought, Alaimo believes the law is more about the psychological well-being of children than the ethical treatment of animals.
“While this may deter a person from abusing an animal in front of a child, I don’t think it will stop people from abusing animals in general,” Alaimo said. “But, I do think it’s important that the issue is being met with further consequences and dealt with on a serious level.”
Furthermore, the establishment of this new law has the potential of easing the stress of victims of domestic violence.
“This law is critically important to helping remove barriers that can trap victims of domestic violence,” said Dr. Jennifer Keys, Professor of Sociology.
Keys used to work at a domestic violence shelter and helped women who were living in an abusive relationship escape to freedom, but the women were worried for more than just themselves.
“I could see women, who were attempting to flee abusive relationships, struggle to ensure the safety of their companion animals — not just cats and dogs, but larger animals like horses,” Keys said.
Researchers have documented how the torture of companion animals is a symbolic display of power and control of the abuser. It is also a way to terrorize the entire family.
“Further criminalizing ‘cruelty to animals in front of a child’ reflects an awareness of the need for the broadest possible definitions of what constitutes abuse,” Keys said. “The law will also enable better measurement of the extent of domestic violence and cross-reporting across law enforcement agencies.”
The Tennessee Animal Abuse Registry was launched on January 1, 2016 and is similar to a website that lists sexual predators in each community. It will have a list of animal abusers in the state of Tennessee.
“(It) actually scares me that we don’t know the actual amount of (animal) abusers,” said Jurik. “I’m glad to see that Tennessee has developed an Animal Abuse Registry, though.”
Jurik works with Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS) and has been an animal activist for the past six years. During the summers at CAPS, Jurik protests for the protection of companion animals at least once a week.
“I have also done circus protests and really anything involving animals for entertainment,” Jurik said. “I feel a stronger connection with animals than with people and that is why I became an activist for animals rights.”
To become a part of an organization that raises awareness for animal rights or Green Scene, Alaimo can be contacted through email at: emalaimo@noctrl.edu.
