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    • The Ohio Supreme Court makes stray animal abuse a criminal offense
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    The Ohio Supreme Court makes stray animal abuse a criminal offense

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    Abusing a stray dog ​​or cat is now a felony, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in a unanimous decision.

    The ruling was welcome news to animal welfare activists in Richland County.

    “Just because an animal was left to fend for itself, it should be afforded the same protection under the law,” County Dog Warden Missy Houghton said.

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    Linda Chambers, executive director of the Humane Society of Richland Countysaid the Supreme Court decision will help human agents conduct investigations.

    “We get calls from people saying, ‘There are cats in my yard, can I shoot them?'” Chambers said. “That’s not just tone-deaf, it’s appalling that people would even go there.

    “Now I can tell them it’s a crime.”

    Cleveland man abused kitten with bleach

    The case comes from a animal cruelty investigation into Alonzo Kylesa Cleveland man who claims to be afraid of cats.

    He poured bleach into the basement stairwell of his apartment building to get an 8-month-old kitten to leave. When Cleveland police arrived, they found the cat’s paws red and swollen from exposure to bleach.

    Kyles was convicted of fifth-degree felony abuse of a pet and sentenced to nine months in prison. His lawyers appealed, saying Kyles should face a misdemeanor because the cat was not a pet.

    The Ohio law increases the penalties for cruelty to pets, defined as “any animal that is kept within a residential dwelling and any dog ​​or cat, regardless of where it is kept.”

    The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the kitten did not qualify because it was not “kept” or cared for.

    The Ohio Supreme Court disagreed, the law extends to all dogs and cats.

    “I agree completely,” said Houghton.

    Chambers said. “That’s fantastic news. People just look at strays like they’re thrown away.”

    More: Richland County Dog Shelter to get kennel improvements thanks to local nonprofit

    Looking at laws in other states

    Harsher penalties enacted in Pennsylvania have made a difference in the lives of dogs and cats, the Erie Times-News, a News Journal partner newspaper, reported.

    The changes, which took effect in August 2017, made aggravated animal cruelty, defined as torturing an animal or causing it serious bodily injury or death, a third-degree felony punishable by up to seven years in prison.

    Misdemeanor charges could lead to a year or two in jail.

    In Michigan, killing or torturing animals in the first degree is a felony punishable by one or more of the following: up to 10 years in prison, up to $5,000 in fines, and up to 500 hours of community service.

    At least two neighboring states, West Virginia and Indiana, refer to strays in their animal abuse laws.

    In Indiana, abandoning or neglecting a stray is considered animal cruelty, a Class A misdemeanor. Penalties could be increased if the person has prior convictions for animal cruelty.

    In West Virginia, any act that causes unnecessary suffering to a stray animal is considered animal abuse.

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