South Dakota's ag-industrial lobby freaked out over Senate Bill 171, a measure to make cruelty to dogs, cats, and horses a felony. Lobbyists and legislators quickly snuffed out that bill on baseless fears that out-state animal activists would use this grassroots bill to put farmers and ranchers out of business.
All that Bakken oil must keep our North Dakota neighbors from suffering such ag-paranoia. The North Dakota Legislature just approved an animal cruelty law that's broader than what South Dakota legislators pretended went too far. North Dakota's Senate Bill 2211 makes a felony of cruelty to any animal, not just the dogs, cats, and horses. It has clear and sensible exemptions for euthanasia, rodeo, normal farm and ranch practices, and other such critter situations. But it says that if you mutilate or torture any animal, you can go to jail for five years and pay $5,000 for your sociopathic behavior. South Dakota's failed SB 171 would have made critter cruelty a Class 6 felony, worth two years in prison and a $4,000 fine.
The North Dakota animal cruelty bill's chief sponsor was a Republican (as was the case with the failed South Dakota bill). It also won the favor of North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring.
By extending the cruelty bill to apply to all animals, North Dakota's Legislature essentially responded to voters who rejected a ballot initiative last November that would only have dealt with dogs, cats, and horses. The Humane Society says the North Dakota ag lobby watered SB 2211 down, but it's still better than nothing... which is what South Dakota has. When Governor Jack Dalrymple signs this bill, he'll leave South Dakota as the only state that doesn't consider cruelty to animals a felony.