State: S.C. Now has Stiffer Penalties for Animal Cruelty

The State newspaper is reporting that stricter legislation means those who hurt or neglect animals now face general sessions court plus heftier fines and penalties. But local court officials say so far, the changes haven’t had much of an effect on their caseload.

Earlier this year, state legislators tweaked the cruelty to animals statute to provide stiffer penalties. A first offense used to carry 60 days in jail and/or a fine and was handled in magistrate or municipal court. Under the changes, a first-offense conviction for cruelty to animals carries 90 days in jail and/or a fine and is tried in general sessions court.

The changes in legislation also increase the penalties for second and third offenses and make the most serious animal abuse, neglect and torture violations a felony offense. A conviction on the worst violations could bring a repeat offender up to 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.

“Thankfully, we haven’t seen any of these cases yet,” 12th Circuit Solicitor Ed Clements III said. “I see the pros and cons of the changes, but I’ll have to have a little more experience with it before I can say too much about the changes. I don’t know what it’s going to mean in the long run, but we’ll do our job and enforce the law as always.”

Rep. Bill Taylor, R-Aiken, pushed for the changes after a lenient punishment was handed down in a puppy mill raid near Johnston in 2013. In that case, the operator of the puppy mill pleaded guilty to seven counts of ill treatment of animals. As part of her plea agreement, she paid $350 in court costs and donated 30 bales of hay for the nine horses she held.

“South Carolina is ranked 48th in state animal protection laws in the annual survey by the Humane Society of the United States,” Taylor said. “Surely we can do better in protecting animals from abuse by stiffening the criminal penalties.”

Florence Area Humane Society President Jayne Boswell said the stiffening of penalties is a step in the right direction, but she’d like to see more aggressive enforcement in the Pee Dee.

“I think we’ve got to do something to stop the number of animal neglect and cruelty cases,” Boswell said. “I think we’re seeing more and more of it in our society today — a lack of compassion and we’ve got to make a statement and enforce the law so people know there will be repercussions when they disobey them. I think every step we take to stop cruelty to animals of course helps animals, but likely helps people, too. It’s not something we can just ignore and hope will stop. We’ve got to make sure our local agencies are enforcing the law and people are being held accountable.”