Utah Bill Declares Open Season on Feral Animals
Note: Please remember that when people refer to “humane killing” they are referring to what benefits them, to what makes THEM feel better, to what grants them approval. When an animal, human and non-, is exploited by being deliberately killed for the purpose of convenience/goal/pleasure/enjoyment/ritual/practice (versus to end suffering), it is never done with the killed victim in mind. Never. A hostage who is murdered is not treated compassionately because he is given five minutes in the sun before being executed, or because his death is “instantaneous”. The taking of life is unethical: there is no such thing as compassionate exploitation except to those who define it with impunity. sr
Please click on and sign Say No To The Killing of Feral Animals
Utah residents, please also sign Protect Utah’s Cats from Cruelty, Oppose H.B. 210
If you live in Utah, you might want to keep a shorter leash on your pet. A new bill (H.B. 210) sponsored by Republican Representative Curt Oda (R-Clearfield) would legalize “the humane shooting or killing of an animal if the person doing the shooting or killing has a reasonable belief that the animal is a feral animal.”
There’s a bunch of problems with the proposed bill, and animal advocates are speaking out against it as “cruel and archaic.” The Humane Society of Utah and Best Friends Animal Society (located in Kanab, Utah) are both strongly opposed to the bill. The groups are hoping people will contact Utah representatives to express their opposition, too.
Gene Baierschmidt, Executive Director of the Humane Society of Utah believes that the bill will be a huge mistake and will only, “open the door for a lot of abuse to take place.”
Under a proposed bill, a loose animal doesn’t have to be aggressive, sick or even feral for a person to legally shoot it; whether the animal is feral or not will be left up to the untrained person with the gun in his hand.
The bill will also allow people to legally kill rodents and other “pests” such as pigeons. Clubbing, decapitating and shooting the animal with a bow and arrow will also be allowed. That’s right, those methods are considered to be “humane” according to Oda.
Animal Advocacy Alliance in Utah doesn’t think shooting — not to mention clubbing, decapitating and bow hunting — is ever humane and that feral animals were protected in the animal cruelty laws for a reason.
While advocates agree the feral animal issue is a problem in Utah, they also believe there are better ways to approach it other than declaring warfare on any loose animal deemed to be feral.
Utah bill would permit shooting feral animals
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One alternative is through trap, neuter and return programs. No More Homeless Pets in Utah is especially pro-TNR and has fixed thousands of feral cats through programs such as The Big Fix.
While Oda argues that letting the public shoot feral animals is the quickest and cheapest way to deal with the animals, No More Homeless Pets in Utah maintains that TNR is not only effective, but also saves money in the long run.
The advocacy groups feel the management of feral animals should be left to professionals.
Animal cruelty only became a felony in Utah three years ago. Allowing open season on feral animals would be a big step backwards for Utah’s animals.
Please click to Sign the petition and tell Utah to reject H.B. 210
Related …
Our Compass 
utah, put your tools of
death away
the solution: capture,
neuter and spay
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Why bother to even have a humane society there? Looks like the state government has everything under control. How would they like to be clubbed to death? This means any nut case in Utah that loves to kill animals can get a lot of practice torturing, mutilating and killing by any means necessary. This will open the flood gates. Then when they get tired of animals they will turn to humans. Looks like you could see an increase in child abuse and murders as well. Thanks a lot Utah for making this world a wonderful place for animals and also for children. You are setting quite an example of compassion . God knows we have very little of that left in this world.
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Utah is as bad as our states come.
I heard from a Congressman in Hawaii who is proposing an ordinance that no cats can be sold unless spayed/neutered. There are politicians among the ranks that want to help these situations. Holding the humans responsible for preventing them seems logical to them. It’s getting hard to argue with that mentality.
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