State stiffens its animal cruelty laws

Ohio felony degrees

Abusing animals is something that's not only been prevalent in Ohio, but also in Butler County.

One of the more recent animal cruelty crimes in the county happened in February. A woman found a dead dog still in its cage inside a trash bin in early February, and Butler County Deputy Dog Warden Supervisor Kurt Merbs called it "one of the more disturbing cases" he's seen in his nine years on the job.

Katie Schmuck, 21, and Jacob Goodwin, 21, both of Hamilton, were ordered at their arraignment to stay away from animals, and in May they were sentenced to serve time jail on misdemeanor charges.

Ohio law allows for cruelty to companion animals to be charged as a first- or second-degree misdemeanor. But come mid-September, in cases like the one in Hamilton and others, the penalty will be much stiffer. On June 13, Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed into law updates to cruelty to a companion animal charges. Now, anyone facing that crime — either by way of abuse or neglect — on a first offense will be charged with, at minimum, a fifth-degree felony.

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PET-FRIENDLY OHIO: Ohio’s passed two other laws to the benefit of pets

In May: Bill would allow first responders to treat pets

This month: New Ohio law to help kids, pets locked in hot cars

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This law change aligns Ohio with nearly every state in the country, said Corey Roscoe, Ohio's director for The Humane Society of the United States. She said torturing companion animals "should not be tolerated," and this new law "is a step in the right direction."

“Ohio now joins 46 states in the nation that punish extreme acts of animal cruelty with felony-level penalties,” Roscoe said. She said Pennsylvania, Iowa and Mississippi that don’t charge first-time offenders of extreme abuse and neglect of animals.

This is the third Ohio law since May passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by Kasich that is animal-friendly.

In May, lawmakers passed a bill that was signed by the governor to would allow first responders to treat pets on the scene of an emergency. Earlier this month, lawmakers passed a bill that would protect bystanders who help children and pets get out of locked hot vehicle.

This law will funnel all of animal cruelty cases through the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office, and county prosecutor Michael Gmoser doesn’t believe this change in the law will cause his office will see an increase in these cases.

But if there is, he said his office will “welcome the opportunity” to prosecute.

“I’m more optimistic in our society than to think we’ll have a sudden surge in animal cruelty cases,” he said. “However, if there are, it tells us about our community.”

He sees the stiffer penalties as a deterrence for crime, because he’s seen as a prosecutor the transition from those who abuse animals to abusing people. And while Gmoser said he hasn’t studied the link between animal cruelty and abusing people, others have.

A study by Northeastern University and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals found 70 percent of those who committed crimes against animals had also been involved in other violent, property, drug and disorderly crimes. And according to the Animal Legal Defense Fund, animal abuse can be a predictor that person could abuse people, if they haven't done so already.

“Several academic studies have found a clear link between animal cruelty during youth and violence against humans as an adult. This link is so well established, profilers routinely use animal cruelty reports in their assessment of the possible threat criminals pose,” according to the California-based animal advocacy group.

At any given time, there’s at least one formerly abused animal in the care of the Animal Friends Humane Society on Princeton Road in Butler County, said executive director Meg Stephenson. This week there were four dogs.

The bill is “a huge step” toward animal welfare, she said.

“I think lenient penalties, lenient fines aren’t enough to discourage people from making poor choices, so the hope would be the harsher penalties will hold people accountable and thus deter from making bad decisions and from being cruel and neglectful to any animals,” she said.