Animal Cruelty

Animal Cruelty

Introduction:

I. Did you know that nearly 1 million animals a year are victims of animal cruelty? This can contain not only abuse, but a lot of deaths. You often here the saying a dog is a man’s best friend. While if a dog is a man’s best friend why would we want to hurt or even kill them? These things lead me to the question…
II. How do we stop animal cruelty? Here in South Dakota, there are animal protection laws that protect the animals from things like neglect, starvation, and abuse.
III. We must fully understand the causes and effects as far as the care that is being made for these animals. Once we fully understand these things, we can prevent abuse and neglect furthermore.
IV. Today I am going to tell you about The Animals Protection Laws of South Dakota.

Transition: The first thing I want to bring up is the general prohibitions of this law.

I. There are many laws and prohibitions that are enforced in the state of South Dakota that help to prohibit animal cruelty
a. The First prohibition is giving unreasonable care to an animal even if they have a disease, injury, or disability.
b. The Second Prohibition is the poisoning of an animal, whether it be one’s own animal or an animal owned by someone else.
c. The Third Prohibition is the killing or injuring of one’s own animal or an animal owned by someone else.
d. The Fourth, and the last, Prohibition, is the inhumane treatment of an animal.
Transition: The next thing that I want to talk about is the maximum penalties for committing such crimes.
II. There are many penalties for animal cruelty crimes. They are divided into 2 classes which are authorized upon conviction:

a. For a class 1 misdemeanor the penalty would be one year imprisonment in a county jail or two thousand dollars fine, or both.
b. For a class 2 misdemeanor the penalty would be thirty days imprisonment in a county jail or five hundred dollars fine, or both.
Transition: The last stage is the Law Enforcement Policies
III. South Dakota Law Enforcement Policy holds a strict standard. The enforcement policies are as follows:
a. The South Dakota Animal Industry Board shall address any animal endangerment situations and enforce the law on any concerning cattle, horses, sheep, swine and other nonlivestock animals.
b. The board or any officer of a humane society may administer oaths, take statements, access papers and other documents in order to justify the situation.
c. Law enforcement and animal control agencies may enforce animal control. Officers may request that law enforcement arrest suspects of people who do not abide by the law.
Transition: As you can see South Dakota holds high policies regarding animal cruelty and these enforcements help maintain healthy living for these animals.
Here’s a video of some animals that have experienced abuse and cruelty first hand.
Video
Conclusion:
I. Sadly, no matter what the prohibitions and laws are, there’s no way to fully avoid animal cruelty and it can often be overlooked. However, with these laws, it can help limit the amount of animals that are abused or die because of cruelty.
II. As I’ve discussed, animal cruelty is a concerning problem for not only the state of South Dakota, but everywhere.
a. It has many causes ranging from abuse to neglect, or eventual death
b. Its effects can provide a saddening outcome, such as the loss of a pet or jail time.
c. Fortunately, we can help prevent this by taking good care of our animals. and reporting suspicious instances.
III. What I’ve discussed should give you insight on how to avoid animal cruelty and make for a better tomorrow for animals all around the world.