SB 214-CRUELTY TO ANIMALS  2:15:23 PM CHAIR FRENCH announced the consideration of SB 214. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI, sponsor of SB 214, said the link between animal cruelty, domestic violence and other violent crimes has been well documented since the 1970s. SB 214 works hand-in-hand with the governor's platform against domestic violence by increasing the punishment to a felony offense for the most heinous crimes of animal cruelty. The bill provides the opportunity to identify and punish perpetrators of domestic violence early on, before they can do further harm to people in the community. Currently, animal cruelty is a misdemeanor offense and a class C felony on the third offense if it occurs within 10 years. Forty five other states have animal cruelty provisions with a felony on the first offense. Alaska is the only state that requires a third offense prior to triggering the felony clause. This bill will amend current statute to ensure that the most heinous acts of animal cruelty are a felony on the first offense. This bill creates a felony animal cruelty provision for knowingly inflicting severe and prolonged physical pain or suffering on an animal or for killing or injuring an animal by the use of a decompression chamber or poison. By comparison, the penalty for a serious injury of a person is typically a class A or a class B felony. The penalty for killing a person with poison is an unclassified felony. SB 214 also creates a class A misdemeanor for a first offense and class C felony for second offense within 10 years for failing to care for an animal with criminal negligence resulting in death, severe pain or suffering or for knowingly killing or injuring an animal with the intent to intimidate, threaten or terrorize another person. By comparison, the penalty for negligent child endangerment is a class C felony and stalking is a class A misdemeanor on the first offense and a class C felony on the second offense. In nearly all these provisions, the penalties for crimes inflicted on humans are much greater than the penalties for crimes inflicted on animals. The penalty for stalking, however, is the same as that for knowingly killing or injuring an animal with the intent to intimidate, threaten, or terrorize another person. The provision for animal cruelty is essentially one component of stalking or terrorizing another person. 2:18:13 PM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI highlighted that in Alaska, stealing a $500 purebred dog or vandalizing a $500 portrait of an animal is currently a Class C felony, but killing or severely injuring that same pet is only a class A misdemeanor. This doesn't make sense, he said. As previously mentioned, there is a direct and proven link between crimes of domestic violence and animal cruelty. Over 70 percent of pet owners entering domestic violence shelters report that their batterer had threatened, injured, or killed family pets. Over 90 percent of violent attacks on animals are committed in the presence of a partner or a family member to seek revenge or control. SB 214 provides an opportunity to prevent further violent acts by identifying those dangerous individuals before they can do more harm to both animals and people. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI noted that SB 214 is supported by the Alaska Department of Public Safety, the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, Alaska Veterinary Association, the Municipality of Anchorage Animal Control Advisory Board, the Humane Society of the U.S., the Alaska Peace Officers Association, and many other groups and individuals. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI related two recent instances of violence and animal cruelty in this state to show why it's time to join 45 other states and allow felony prosecution for the most despicable acts of animal cruelty. 2:22:28 PM CHAIR FRENCH recalled that animal cruelty has to rise to the level of torture for it to be a felony. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said it's essentially torturing on three occasions. 2:23:48 PM DOUG MOODY, Attorney, Public Defender Agency, Alaska Department of Administration, said he is available to answer questions and that the PDA seconds Ms. Carpeneti's testimony. COLONEL AUDIE HOLLOWAY, Alaska State Troopers, Department of Public Safety (DPS), said that domestic violence perpetrators use threats or violence to pets to coerce their victims. Numerous studies show that cruelty to animals is linked to crimes against persons. The troopers receive frequent requests to investigate animal cruelty ranging from starvation to using animals for target practice. Because of other priorities they are unable to investigate most of those cases. Hopefully increasing the penalties will cause perpetrators to think twice about committing these acts, he said. 2:25:30 PM JACKIE KAHN, Detective, Anchorage Police Department, said she is the point of contact for animal cruelty cases and she believes that people don't realize how much animal cruelty goes on. In less than two years she has reviewed at least 60 cases of reported animal cruelty ranging from neglect to torture. She highlighted the point that people that commit acts of animal cruelty are statistically linked to other violent crimes and other criminal activity. I've seen that in practice in Anchorage, she said. SB 214 is an important bill that will help keep these people from committing future crimes. 2:29:11 PM KAYLA EPSTEIN, member, Anchorage Animal Care and Control Advisory Board, said the board unanimously supports SB 214. Most people want to protect small helpless creatures from harm and pedophiles know and take advantage of this. While people like to think that pedophiles are strangers, the fact is that 70 percent are either family members or someone that the family knows. Abuse of animals is an aid to perpetrators in cases of domestic violence. They use abuse or threats of abuse to demonstrate power and control, to isolate, to force submission, to perpetuate an environment of fear, to prevent the victim from leaving or to coerce them to return, and to punish a victim for leaving or for showing independence. 71 percent of pet-owning women entering shelters report that their batterer has injured, maimed, killed, or threatened family pets for revenge or psychological control. In those cases, 87 percent of the women witnessed the abuse and 76 percent of children were witness. 25 percent of abused women will not leave their situation out of fear for the animals they care about. In homes where a spouse is abused, child abuse is twice as likely to occur if there is also animal abuse. Increasing the penalty for animal abuse to a felony would give prosecutors one more weapon to fight the very difficult domestic violence and sexual abuse of a minor cases. 2:33:49 PM RONNIE ROSENBERG, Chair, Fairbanks North Star Borough Animal Control Commission, said she is also the founder and president of the Fairbanks Animal Shelter Fund. From time to time over the years they have seen egregious animal abuse and it's time to join the other 45 states and prosecute them on the first offense as a felon. These events are very disruptive to the fabric of neighborhoods and communities. MICHELE GIRAULT, Friends of Pets, Anchorage, stated support for SB 214. She reported having received many calls over the years from women whose pets had been killed by their partners. The link between violence toward pets and violence toward women and children is better recognized now and she believes that passing this bill will help address other violent issues and perhaps save a child or woman from being battered. Alaska needs to take a stand and make animal cruelty a felony, she said. 2:37:34 PM ADAM PARASCANDOLA, Director, Animal Cruelty Campaign, Humane Society of the United States, stated support for SB 214. He cited a study released by the Chicago Police Department in 2008 that found "a startling propensity for offenders charged with crimes against animals to commit other violent offenses towards human victims." Investigators examined the criminal records of animal cruelty and animal fighting arrestees and found that 86 percent had two or more past arrests, 70 percent had been arrested for felonies including homicide, 70 percent had past narcotics arrests, and 65 percent had been arrested for battery crimes. A Canadian police study similarly found that 70 percent of those arrested for animal cruelty had prior records of violent crimes including homicide. This research makes it clear that people who are capable of atrocious acts of cruelty to animals are similarly dangerous to humans and communities. He noted that after the District of Columbia passed a felony law against animal cruelty the first case he investigated was linked to domestic violence. SB 214 is reasonable and practical, he concluded. 2:40:44 PM SALLY CLAMPITT, Executive Director, Alaska SPCA, stated enthusiastic support for SB 214. Alaska SPCA receives numerous calls from across the state reporting incidents of cruelty or inhumane treatment of animals, particularly dogs. Local animal control ordinances are frequently weak and ineffective and when there is no enforcement agency these cases are handled by the state troopers that have many other pressing obligations. If animal cruelty were a felony on the first offense and the law was energetically and decisively enforced, the word would get out. It would likely be an effective and long-term deterrent to people who commit heinous acts against animals. Alaska has a long history of having some of the worst animal cruelty laws and SB 214 would bring it closer in alignment with legislation in other states. This is appropriate as there is growing intolerance for animal cruelty. 2:43:26 PM DR. MYRA WILSON, Veterinarian, Anchorage Animal Care and Control, stated support for SB 214. She could reiterate previous testimony from an animal control perspective. Her agency has seen numerous cases of animal cruelty and would like to see all the hard work that APD, animal control officers, and veterinarians put into these animal cruelty cases result in more stringent penalties. 2:45:16 PM ANNE CARPENETI, Attorney, Criminal Division, Department of Law (DOL), said the department isn't taking a position on SB 214, but in the past it has testified in opposition to felony level penalties for animal cruelty. She reported that in 1978 the Criminal Code Revision Commission debated whether or not animal cruelty should be a felony and the majority decided it ought to be resolved as a class A misdemeanor. The maximum penalty of which is one year in jail. Over the years DOL has held that the prosecution of animal cruelty cases should be less serious than the prosecution of assault and other offenses against humans. MS. CARPENETI said Senator Wielechowski is correct when he points to the elements of the offenses. Murder of a human being is a higher level than a class A misdemeanor. Torturing and killing a person is an unclassified felony that would probably bring a mandatory 99 years in jail. However, the reality of criminal prosecution of crimes against people in this state, particularly domestic violence crimes, is that they tend to be resolved as class A misdemeanors - assault in the fourth degree. Not until the third assault in the fourth degree within a ten year period does one get a class C felony. DOL's concern is that crimes against people generally get resolved as class A misdemeanors. It's an issue of parity; humans should be protected more seriously than animals. CHAIR FRENCH said he's surprised, given the governor's focus on domestic violence, that he or the attorney general isn't willing to rethink that historical opposition. He doesn't believe anyone is seeking parity between harm against pets and harm against humans, but he knows that many serious assaults against women and children that resolve as misdemeanor do so because of the leverage a potential felony conviction affords. If this becomes law, many felony animal cruelty charges will similarly resolve as misdemeanors, but with less fuss and muss, he said. 2:49:43 PM MS. CARPENETI said that's probably true. It's clear that animal cruelty should be taken seriously because the evidence shows that it is a gateway crime to domestic violence. However, a gateway crime shouldn't have a larger penalty than the target crime. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said it's factually incorrect to say that these proposed penalties are at parity with the penalties for similar acts committed against humans. Knowingly inflicting severe and prolonged pain or suffering on an animal would be a class C felony. A similar act committed against a human is either a class A or a class B felony and possibly an unclassified felony. Killing or injuring an animal by poison or decompression chamber would be a class C felony, which is the lowest form of felony. Doing the same to a human is an unclassified felony. 2:51:52 PM MS. CARPENETI said, "It could be that since 1978 our state has matured and gotten to a point where animal cruelty ought to be a felony." I was simply giving the historical perspective, she added. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said he has a big problem if this administration is allowing criminals who inflict severe and prolonged pain and suffering on other humans to plead out to a misdemeanor. Let me know if you need more resources to address that, he said. CHAIR FRENCH announced he would hold SB 214 in committee.