Bills in the state of Michigan aim to protect animals; one provides for harsher penalties for animal abusers

Animal lovers and activists in Michigan are celebrating a bill to protect animals and save taxpayers’ money.

Senate Bills 657 and 658 aim to provide funding to animal welfare organizations and shelters so they can better care for abused animals. The proposed legislation would separate civil and criminal cases, allowing abused animals to leave the shelter sooner, reducing the financial burden on taxpayers.

Senator Dayna Polehanki (D-Livonia), one of the bill’s cosponsors, said the bond forfeiture system would be changed.

“A defendant in an animal cruelty or neglect case would have to either post bail to cover the cost of care or surrender the animal so it can be placed in a loving home,” Polehanki explained.

While the bills were referred to a criminal justice committee, other animal protection bills, including House Bill 5587 and others, were rejected by the state House of Representatives, resulting in harsher penalties for animal abusers.

With Bill 5587, Michigan lawmakers are seeking to close a loophole in sentencing guidelines for capital crimes. Currently, crimes against pets are not included in the points system used to determine minimum sentences, which often allows offenders to avoid prison time.

Democratic Rep. Stephanie Young of Detroit, who is sponsoring the bill, said the goal is to include crimes against pets in the guidelines.

“It just gives the judge another tool to give a higher priority to what happened,” Young said. “Instead of giving 24 months probation, the judge can say, ‘Oh yeah, this time you’re actually going to have to go to prison.'”

Dianne Reeves, co-founder of I Heart Dogs Rescue and Animal Haven in Warren, knows firsthand the impact pets have on their people.

“What we’re seeing in the shelter community with adoptions is that more people are viewing animals as family members and not just pets,” Reeves noted.

The Michigan Humane Society’s Detroit-area Animal Cruelty Investigation Team investigates more than 5,000 animal cruelty complaints each year.