Two bills in the Iowa legislature would make animal torture a felony in the state.
House File 23-48 would make the crime a Class D felony. This means that someone would face up to five years in prison, and fines between $1,025 and more than $10,000.
State law currently has animal torture as a misdemeanor for the first offense. The legislation passed out of a House committee unanimously last week.
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Sioux City Animal Adoption and Rescue Center officials said the bill should become law due to how important the issue is in Iowa.
“We deal with abuse and neglect on a regular basis. If you abuse an animal that there are consequences to it. And right now there, the laws are not that strict, where it becomes a felony, I like people might think twice about abusing or torturing an animal,” said Cindy Rarrat, director at Sioux City Adoption and Rescue Center.
The companion bill, Senate File 20-99, passed a senate judiciary commitee earlier in the week.