A bill advancing in Virginia’s House of Delegates would vastly expand the fines for pet owners who neglect their animals and would even introduce the possibility of jail time for particularly egregious cases.
Under the legislation, which won preliminary approval in the House, an owner would face a penalty of as much as $1,000 and up to six months in jail for failing to provide adequate food, water, shelter, space, exercise and other care to his pet. The current maximum fine is $250.
The bill “gives a judge discretion in really bad cases to give a person some jail,” said Del. Dave Albo, R-Springfield.
Albo’s bill also would increase the current $50 fine for an animal shelter that fails to sterilize a dog or cat before releasing it to $250.
“Virginians want animal cruelty taken more seriously than a traffic violation,” said Dale Bartlett, spokesman for the Humane Society of the United States. “This bill sends a message that failing to provide an animal basic treatment won’t be tolerated.”
While the Michael Vick scandal elevated the awareness of dogfighting, “this is an important bill because the vast majority of animal cruelty cases are not that,” Bartlett said.
“The vast majority of animal cruelty cases are instances of improper care and neglect, where animals suffer needlessly because their caretaker simply doesn’t care enough to make sure they get food, water, shelter and veterinary attention,” he said.
Addressing a question on the House floor on how the legislation would treat a pet owner failing to provide adequate veterinary care, Albo replied “that’s why you have judges,” doubting a court would dole out jail time for refusing to pay for a costly vet procedure.
Because the legislation opens up the potential for jail time for the worst offenders, it “could result in an increase in the jail population,” according to a fiscal impact statement on the bill from the Virginia Department of Planning and Budget.
