National Animal Cruelty Prosecution Conference Atlanta GA May 05-07

The National Animal Cruelty Prosecution Conference May 05-07, 2014 will be in Atlanta, GA. It is free! There, the new cruelty bill language will be discussed. Many other animal cruelty investigation and prosecution courses will be taught. This is open to anyone involved in animal cruelty cases including law enforcement (animal control & POST officers), prosecutors, judges, lawyers, veterinarians, vet techs, social workers,  domestic violence advocates, agriculture and health department  directors/ inspectors, animal shelter employees, animal behaviorist, teachers, trainers, animal advocates, etc.Professional education hours will be offered to those attending (see the link below)

Please be sure everyone in your community knows about this wonderful conference!  You might want to hand carry this information to animal control, the district attorney, the solicitor, veterinarians, rescues, etc.  Thank you for getting the word out!

May 05-07, 2014; Monday - Wednesday
4th National Animal Cruelty Prosecution Conference
Atlanta, GA - State Bar of Georgia Headquarters - 104 Marietta St. NW Atlanta, GA 30303

Please click here to register 

 http://apainc.org/default.aspx?menuitemid=127

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RT @seprr National Animal Cruelty Prosecution Conference
May 5-7 Atlanta GA http://ow.ly/vevEl  #GaBar #Gapol

Georgia HB 863 Animal Anti-Cruelty bill PASSED 166 to 1!

Georgia HB 863 Animal Anti-Cruelty bill PASSED 166 to 1!

Please stop calling now!  You may want to send a THANK YOU email to your Rep.

 

We will let you know if you need to contact the Senate. For now, NO more calls, please.

 

Bryan Grant 

bgrant@sepetrescue.org

 

VOTE YES ON HB 863

Prosecuting Attorney’s Counsel of Georgia (PACGA)

drafted & supports this bill

Today,  Monday, February 24, 2014, House Bill 863 will come to a vote on the floor of the Georgia House.  HB 863 represents the best effort in over a decade to make substantial improvements to Georgia's Cruelty to Animals statute.  These include:

·         Providing for felony punishment for the deliberate torture of animals, even if the animal is not seriously injured;

·         Providing for felony punishment for intentionally poisoning an animal;

·         Specifically providing for felony punishment for the most serious neglect-type cases (heretofore, all neglect cases were treated as misdemeanors, even where the animal dies or is seriously injured as a result of the neglect);

·         Penalties provisions increased for a second felony (1 – 10 year)

·         Clarifying language within various parts of the statute to make it easier for law enforcement and animal control officers and prosecutors to establish what neglect-type behaviors constitute a violation;

·         Closing a loophole in existing law which allows a person involved in a crime (say, a burglary) to injure or kill an animal (say, the family dog inside the house being burglarized that attacks the burglar) and still be justified in doing so; and

·         Providing that, in order for a person to kill or injure an animal and claim "self-defense", the threat posed by the animal must be imminent and not a hypothetical or imagined threat which might possibly occur in the future.

HB 863 is a carefully-crafted by line prosecutors and PACGA and is a conservative piece of legislation.  It accomplishes the above goals while still providing protection for otherwise-legal activities involving animals such as hunting, fishing, trapping, agricultural and animal husbandry practices, medical and scientific research, and the like.

Georgia! ACTION NEEDED TODAY! Vote YES on HB 863 Starvation/Torture #gapol #petrescue

Georgia! ACTION NEEDED TODAY! Vote YES on HB 863 Starvation/Torture #gapol #petrescue

Dear friends,
HB 863 may be voted on as early as Monday at the GA Capitol! The time is NOW! Please contact your GA state representative and put VOTE YES on HB 863 in the subject line.

This bill will strengthen the prosecution of those who starve and torture animals. We must act today!


    To find your GA Rep go to www.votesmart.org and put in your zip code plus the four numbers after it. Your elected officials will come up and you can email directly from that site. Or you can copy the email address and send otherwise.Keep the contact info for your representative and senator! You will need it when we have other bills very soon.
    To find your zip plus four, go to www.usps.com. Look under quick tools and click on look up zip code. put in your address, state and your zip+4 will pop up.


Please act today. GA PETS, your lobbying group, has worked long and hard to get this bill to this point. For the animals around our state, it needs to pass!  Thanks you and please pass on.