There's your trouble.

The trouble with animal abuse is that even though Every state in the United States and the District of Columbia has a law prohibiting cruelty to animals, "These laws do not give animals rights" (straypetadvocacy.org).. So this means that without justifiable cause that an animal is being abused, they are exempted to the right of a humane lifestyle with a family that will care for them. Isn't it believed that humans originally evolved from animals, and in that case, why should we have lists upon lists of rights when our furry friends do not have the simplest one? To live healthily. Along with this, the charges that the accused receive is slim in many states, and I think that needs to be changed and stricter. In the states of Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Mississippi, North Dakota, and South Dakota there are no penalties to cruelty to animals. And in some states like TN the most time that an individual will receive in prison is 9 months and no fine. There needs to be a government standard in accordance to causing intentional harm to domesticated animals. If there was, I would suggest at least a one year sentence on top of a hefty fine. If this was enacted, there would be expectations that national ads can print and organizations can begin to reach out to get more attention about. With such a range of charges it becomes difficult to have a commercial reaching to all 50 states when it does not apply to them all. Lastly in terms of the media, even though many organizations have been steady with their public awareness commercials-specifically of the adoption issue and lack of funding-it is clear that the consequences are not listed. If the public is not educated on the sentencing that can occur after causing harm to an animal like this, there is no way that they will be able to understand the seriousness of the matter. The action that needs to take place now is showing the people in our communities the real facts, that you can get jail time of more than 5 years in some states for crimes against animals. PSA's need to begin speaking out on this problem, and boldly drawing the lines for the public to see that they can and will be charged to the fullest extent. If all we do is smack a fine in somebody's face for their neglect, it will influence them just as much as a parking ticket. Do we really think a life is worth a dollar amount? http://www.pet-abuse.com/pages/cruelty_laws.php