Idaho's animals: Under the bus
A disconcerting story from Southern Idaho involves serious animal abuse at Idaho's largest dairy. Three workers were secretly filmed as they stomped, dragged and beat milking cows inside a milking barn. Unbelievably, the abusers will very likely walk away from these incidents without punishment. True, this story evokes shock and anger in us. But, before we take aim at the judge or the prosecutor in this case, I urge you to place your anger where it justly belongs.
The true blame rests with our state legislature which has purposely created an environment in which abusers like the trio in question have little or nothing to fear. Two of the accused have left the area and one is facing misdemeanor charges. The Prosecutor is restrained as a result of actions taken by our illustrious legislature during its last session. Unfortunately, these actions were signed into law by Governor Butch Otter, in spite of public outcry in the form of hundreds of phone calls and e-mails requesting that he not take action on a law that could only encourage boldness from abusers.
In June of 2011, a citizens' group began to gather signatures in order to place an initiative on the 2012 ballot that would not have changed existing animal abuse laws, but rather tweak them so that there would be greater clarification as to what abuse and torture are, and to add serious felony charges to the law which would have deterred abusers. When the citizens of Idaho got behind the idea of strengthening existing laws, thousands of them stepped forward and gave their signatures in support of it. Realizing this, the legislature moved very quickly to gather industry representatives and lobbyists for a meeting in which they penned laws that would hinder action by prosecutors, inhibit judges from serious action and make action by law enforcement an exercise in wasting time. The entire senate voted to pass this watered-down version of animal protection legislation. In one instance, a felony charge would be applicable at the discretion of a judge, only if the prosecutor could show that an abuser was caught "torturing" an animal for the third time and must also know what the intent of the accused was and what they were thinking at the time. That's a defense lawyer's dream law.
It seems to me, especially in an election year, that legislators who ignored the will of 50,000 citizens, which could have resulted in 80,000 to 100,000 votes for strict abuse penalties, might have weighed their quick approvals more carefully. I urge Idaho voters to express their disappointment to the legislators by using the power of the voting booth. These legislators have thrown Idaho's animals under the bus, without care or compassion. Perhaps sending them the message that they could well be next in line will bring about laws that will do what needs to be done. Incumbents need to hear this message first and do not deserve your vote. A vote for their opposition can send this message most clearly. If an incumbent is running unopposed then a write-in vote will serve the purpose. Or, do not vote for anyone at all. The message must be sent, and be delivered effectively by the means that Idaho's voters have at our fingertips. The Legislature and our Governor can become the change that is needed to protect our neglected and abused animals, but it will take our voices to be the ones they hear above all others. Your vote on Nov. 6 can make it happen.
Tony Mangan is a Kootenai County resident.