Sunday, February 28, 2016

Michigan: Repeat offenders causing Michigan to re-evaluate animal cruelty laws

MICHIGAN -- A Kalamazoo County man is now facing animal cruelty charges for a third time after ten dogs--mostly puppies--were taken from his home in Oshtemo Township, along with dog fighting paraphernalia.

It's because of repeat offenders that the state is tightening its animal cruelty laws.


Now, Michigan is making plans for more strict laws when it comes to dog fighting in the state.

Because of incidents like the one that happened in 2012 with the man in this week's case, Kelvin Thomas, new legislation is now in the works to toughen these laws even more.


It's the third time dogs have seized from Kelvin Thomas' Oshtemo home.

Ten pit bulls--mostly puppies--were seized Wednesday morning, after ads for fighting dogs were discovered by the humane society.

 

"He had two years probation as punishment, we got a tip that he had dogs back on his property," said Kalamazoo County Director of Animal Services Stephen Lawrence.

Thomas was sentenced to probation and community service when 36 dogs and a bloody fighting pit were taken from his home in back 2012.


But since then, laws have changed.

"All your property can be taken away, you can do a lot of years in prison, so it's a very serious offense," said Michigan State Senator Rick Jones.

Four years ago, Sen. Jones sponsored a series of bills to cut down on the increase of dog fighting in Michigan. Now, there's a database in place to check an owner's past.


"You can check for free to make sure you haven't abused a dog, tortured a dog, you haven't had sex with an animal," Jones said.

As part of his probation, Thomas wasn't allowed to have pets for 2 years. Bills introduced late last year would increase that number to 5 years.


"Michigan has some of the best cruelty laws in the country, the problem is the penalty for those laws is not as strict as it needs to be in a lot of cases," Lawrence said.

Jones says for now he's taking small steps forward, hoping one day these abusers won't ever be able to own an animal again.


Thomas has not yet been charged in this most recent case.

However, because this could be his third offense, the prosecutor's office could choose to charge him with a felony, and jail time.

(WWMT-TV - ‎Feb 18, 2016)

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