Members of the public sat shoulder to shoulder at Tuesday evening’s city council meeting in the Council Chambers. By the end of the work session, the mayor picked out three considerations the council will deliberate going forward with review of the city’s Animal Cruelty Ordinance.
This review comes after a man pleaded guilty to animal cruelty in January and received a $70 fine for two counts. Members of the public who spoke to the council said they think this fine was not adequate for the case. Jim Mora, 58, was cited for animal cruelty and a necropsy revealed that the dog had died from malnourishment and eventually freezing to death.
Members of the public gave statistics to the council stating animal abuse is often directly correlated to domestic abuse. To prevent more cases or even worse criminal cases, members of the public urged the council to make decisions to develop a way for animal cruelty offenders to receive harsher punishments.
The council asked City Attorney David Clark to give recommendations. Clark gave a lengthy speech explaining state statute, the process of coming to a sentence and to the municipal court. Clark said because Mora pleaded guilty right away, there was not enough time to get the police report for the prosecutor before he appeared in court.
President of Laramie’s Animal Welfare Society Amy Williamson advised the council to review the ordinance so that harsher punishments can be made.
“Come up with a system in which people who are either cruel, negligent, dumb, (or) unthinking have enough disincentive through the consequences that can fall upon any action that result in the unnecessary suffering to any creature under their care or control,” she argued.
Through deliberation, council members came to three considerations: sending the case to circuit court in more severe cases; making a minimum fee; and delaying the start of court process in animal cruelty cases.
Cases that would be transferred to circuit court would be more severe incidents deemed fit for a harsher punishment. Clark explained because of state statute, the city could only fine a maximum of $750 and a jail sentence of less than six months. The circuit court could enforce a heavier fine and a year in jail.
Veterinarian Pathologist Dónal O’Toole said he has seen a vast range of animal cruelty cases since he does many necropsies for the state.
“[Necropsy] reports cost anywhere between 100 bucks and 1,000 bucks to do it,” said O’Toole, “so the fine Jim Mora got was less than the test cost that the city is paying for. I suggest that in addition to the fine, the judge can have the discretion to include other costs.”
If an animal can die of starvation and freezing and receive such small consequences, the process needs to be reassessed, said Williamson.
