Ask New Mexico to Ensure Felony Charges for all Animal Abuse Offenses with Strict Penalties

If animal cruelty is to stop, the laws, charges and penalties must be tougher.  Everyone knows that harming anyone or any living being, human or animal, is cold, heartless, disrespectful and downright wrong so there shouldn’t be so many stipulations and second chances.  Any and all forms of animal abuse needs to be a felony.  New Mexico has made some strides in stepping up the charges with the passage of bill SB35 in 2001; yet there are so many stipulations and the abuse continues.  You can read more on this bill, laws & charges at http://www.petroglyphsnm.org/ac_regs/fac.html, https://www.animallaw.info/statute/nm-cruelty-consolidated-cruelty-statutes, http://www.straypetadvocacy.org/PDF/AnimalCrueltyLaws.pdf

The SB35 bill makes extreme animal cruelty a fourth degree felony on the first offense, animal cruelty a misdemeanor on the first, second, and third offense, and a fourth degree felony on the fourth offense. There are numerous exceptions to this bill.  All animals need to be protected without exception by ensuring all crimes against them are a Class B felony, with appropriate consequences, such as longer jail sentences, higher fees, possible acts of community service hours and also being placed on an animal cruelty registry to be shared nationwide with anyone within the animal industry such as sales, care, breeding and treatment. All abusers furthermore should and would be banned from the future mistreatment, ownership and encounters with any animals for a lifetime, guaranteed.  Strict measurements need to be taken and fully enforced in order to put an end to such animal cruelty.

In some instances, accidents and actions for self-defense do occur and seriously need to be proven when it comes to repercussions for harming an animal.  These defenseless creatures need and deserve humans to step in and ensure that abusers be held accountable for any and all forms of intentional animal cruelty. The purpose of this petition is to urge the New Mexico State Legislators to take a giant and crucial step in implementing and strictly enforcing tougher Class B animal cruelty felony charges for any and all forms of abuse, cruelty and neglect of defenseless animals.  You can help with this issue by signing and sharing this petition, voicing your own comments and thoughts in the protection of animals.