This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
During the raging battles about felony amendments to Utah's animal cruelty laws, apparently cattle owners were concerned that the proposed law may punish them for their usual and customary practices. Because of such opposition, the new animal cruelty law was delayed for several years and the revised law exempted a wide variety of animals from the tougher rules.
Guess what? Cruelty is not species specific. Recently, somebody shot nine cows and a calf in Tooele County. In Kanab, somebody shot not only dogs but a domestic pig. Some depraved individuals poisoned federally protected prairie dogs near Enoch. Cruelty knows no boundaries.
We are all better off when all species are equally protected from senseless acts of cruelty by humans.
Victoria Cramer
Salt Lake City
