Lawmakers push to fight animal cruelty

WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) – A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers is trying to combat animal cruelty with legislation that would help hold people accountable for committing these types of crimes.

“I am a dog owner and I’ve been a dog owner for many years, and they’ve all been considered part of the family,” said Rep. Dave Joyce (R – Ohio’s 14th District).

Congressman Joyce is among the four federal lawmakers who introduced the Animal Cruelty Enforcement, or ACE, Act.

Under the legislation, an Animal Cruelty Crimes Section would be created at the Department of Justice. This designated section would help investigate, enforce and prosecute felony animal cruelty crimes.

“These are substantially underreported and underinvestigated,” Joyce said.

Jason Cooke, with the Healthy Hearts and Paws Project, thinks this legislation is a good idea.

“This country needs as much help as possible combatting animal cruelty and nobody has more resources than the federal government,” he said.

Cooke says he believes the legislation would be a huge benefit for animals, especially in areas where investigative resources aren’t as vast.

“Wherever we are, we’re facing acts of animal cruelty and neglect, and the reality is there’s just not enough people out there to investigate all of these all of the time,” he said.

“Individuals who commit animal abuse are five times more likely to commit crimes than non-animal abusers,” Joyce said. “By charging perpetrators of animal cruelty with crimes, you can hopefully prevent violence in the future against humans as well.”

The legislation has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee.

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