Thursday, October 10, 2013
The PAWS Act
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be
judged by the way its animals are treated.” - Mahatma Gandhi
Like most people, I was horrified to learn of the tragic
case of a two-year-old pit bull found in a Quincy park with extensive wounds
that included burns on her face, lacerations scattered on her body, skull
fractures, half starved, dislocated joints, and what may be worst of all, a
split tongue to look like a serpent’s. ‘Puppy
Doe’, as she is commonly referred to, was tortured to an extent most of us cannot
even fathom.
When Puppy Doe sought love, she received hate; when she sought compassion, she received cruelty; and when she sought comfort, she received pain. The individual or individuals who perpetrated these crimes against her are nothing at all, if not monsters. They are subhuman, incapable of accepting the unconditional love gifted from animal to person.
Sadly, as I type these words, monsters, such as the ones who
cowardly abused ‘Puppy Doe’ relentlessly, continue to commit acts of
cruelty. Often times, our laws refer to
animals as little more than property, but we are a great society, and our
society does not accept this notion.
Dogs, cats, and other animals become a part of our families, and have
become a significant presence that we share our homes and our lives with.
On Monday, October 7th, the Massachusetts Senate
Republican Caucus filed “An Act Protecting Animal Welfare and Safety”, or the
“PAWS Act”, to address our antiquated animal cruelty laws, some of which date
as far back as the 19th and 20th centuries. The PAWS Act increases the penalties both in
terms of jail time and fines, but it also creates an animal abuse registry of
those convicted of animal abuse crimes. Furthermore,
the registry would obligate animal shelters, pet stores, and registered
breeders to crosscheck the names on the registry prior to an animal exchanging
hands.
Importantly, the registry would be accessible to private
citizens by visiting law enforcement agencies, such as a municipality’s local
police department, and empower private citizens who list animals in classified
ads with the tools to combat against those who habitually troll Craigslist ads
for further animal victims.
We are a great people, but we must not sit idly by. We must stand together, speak in unison, and
declare that these actions, these crimes against animals cannot and will not be
tolerated in our communities. At this
moment the PAWS Act has 43 total sponsors.
I ask everyone to call their State Senator and State Representative and
urge them to sign onto the PAWS Act.
On a parallel note, I want to thank everyone for the
tremendous amount of support I have received regarding the filing of the PAWS
Act. People from Massachusetts and
across the nation have been extremely supportive, and I thank you.
