HI: Hawaii gets low ranking for animal protection laws

Hawaii gets low ranking for animal protection laws
By BRIAN PERRY, City Editor
POSTED: December 25, 2009

PUUNENE - While a California-based animal rights group contends Hawaii ranks among the worst states in the nation in terms of animal protection laws, Maui Humane Society Chief Executive Officer Jocelyn Bouchard says she's not surprised.

Only two or three years ago, after trying for eight years, animal rights groups were successful in lobbying state lawmakers to make animal cruelty a felony, she said. But even that law specifically excluded chickens because of the strength of Hawaii's cockfighting lobby.  "We knew it wasn't perfect, but we knew we could get it through (the Legislature)," she said Wednesday. In lobbying for legislation, "you pass what you can, (and) work year after year to get it better and better."

In ranking animal protection laws, the Animal Legal Defense Fund looked at animal abuse laws in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Its study grouped Hawaii with Kentucky, North Dakota, Idaho and Mississippi as the five worst states. The nation's best states are Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Oregon and California, according to the group.

The group says that Hawaii state law doesn't include felonies for extreme neglect or abandonment of animals or provisions requiring veterinarians to report suspected abuse. It also says that Hawaii's animal fighting laws are insufficient and its peace officers have no duty to enforce animal protection laws.

Cockfighting in Hawaii is a "huge obstacle" for animal rights advocates, Bouchard said.  Cockfighters are "very organized," and they "speak against any legislation that might affect them," she said. 

Bouchard said she'd like to see tougher state laws against cockfighting specifically, but also against dogfighting, which "is starting to become a problem on Maui."  She speculated that gaining legislation against dogfighting might be easier to do because laws against the blood sport are "something more people can rally around."  Also, current state law bans cruelty against pet animals, such as dogs, cats and caged birds, but it excludes chickens, Bouchard said.

Hawaii law requires those prosecuting abuse to show someone was "willful and intentional" in inflicting pain or disfigurement, she said. Maui Humane Society officials investigate reports of abuse, but need physical evidence, such as injuries to the animal, to successfully prosecute a case.

Bouchard said that animal rights advocates would pursue improved laws during next year's legislative session, which begins in mid-January. Among the measures they expect to seek would be a law making it illegal to tie up a dog 24 hours a day or to use a heavy chain that would injure it. Another measure would put a limit on the number of dogs and cats that could be kept together in a cage, she said.  "We've got a lot of work to do, and we're aware of that," she said.

* Brian Perry can be reached at citydesk@mauinews.com.
Source: http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/527063.html