Governor O’Malley asks for assessment of animal cruelty laws
Following several incidents of animal cruelty, Governor O'Malley has asked the state attorney general to review the state's laws to assess their sufficiency.
Two teenagers were recently charged with animal abuse and cruelty after dousing a pit bull with gasoline and burning the dog. Phoenix, as the dog has been named, survived the burns, but - due to kidney failure - was euthanized days later.
Officials at the Baltimore City Health Department are currently seeking help to find the culprits in a similar incident in which a cat was chained to a pole and burned with firecrackers.
O'Malley - who owns three dogs and two cats - says that he was "deeply disturbed and saddened" by this cruelty.
Currently, Maryland law deems aggravated cruelty to animals through torture, beatings or dogfights a felony punishable by up to three years in prison and $5,000 in fines. And, abuse or neglect of an animal is considered a misdemeanor, which can levy a 90-day sentence and $1,000 in fines.
The Governor and other government officials wish to deter Marylanders from engaging in such cruel and heinous crimes.
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