Joseph M. Sabol

In Pennsylvania Its Legal to Kill Your Pet

Pennsylvania has enacted some new legislation designed to deal with animal cruelty. This is in response to complaints about puppy mills.

A Pennsylvania Superior Court overturned a woman's conviction for conspiracy to commit cruelty to animals for shooting and killing her 6 year old pit bull/chow mix dog. She gave her boyfriend a handgun and had him shoot and kill the dog because, she said, it bit her child. She was found not guilty because, while Pennsylvania law states that it is illegal to shoot and kill a dog or cat, there is an addendum stating that an animal owner can lawfully kill a dog or cat if its done humanely. The law does not specify or define what is a humane way to kill your pet.

This law is obviously contradictory and therefore very confusing. Because of  this State's history with puppy mills, the Governor of Pennsylvania has sought and passed numerous laws to protect dogs and puppies from inhumane treatment. Part of the new legislation includes a law allowing only veterinarians to euthanize commercial kennel dogs.

Apparently this law does not apply to private pet owners. It is hard for me to understand why this should even be an issue, but some people see things differently. There must be people out there who keep guns in their homes and figure its best for them to deal with the "problem", whatever it may be, themselves. The attorney for the woman whose conviction was overturned said that some people don't have the money to have their pet euthanized at a clinic. I find this statement to be ridiculous because we all know that there are, sadly, still plenty of shelters that will euthanize pets if not adopted within a certain time period.

There was another case in Pennsylvania recently where a kennel owner shot and killed almost all of his dogs, 70 in all. He was told by inspectors that 39 of his dogs needed to be treated by a vet for flea and fly bites. He thought the state wanted to shut him down and the dogs were old so he "took care of" getting rid of them. He also said that business was so bad that he could not sell his puppies so he figured no one would want the older dogs. He will no longer be allowed to have a kennel business in Pennsylvania, but there were no charges filed for shooting and killing all his dogs. All he had to do was ask for help and shelters and rescues would have taken his dogs.

Pennsylvania has made many improvements in their dog laws aimed at eliminating puppy mills. There is still more work to do, including correcting and clarifying the law that allows dog owners to shoot and kill their dogs and dispose of them "humanely. There needs to be a clear, understandable law to deal with this issue.

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