Former Miss. State Senator Accused of Killing 7 Baby Geese in Gas Grill
Case Highlights Mississippi's Anemic Animal Cruelty Laws
Published on May 8, 2008 - 7:51:03 AM

By: The Humane Society of the United States

May 6, 2008 -- The Humane Society of the United States is calling for a full investigation into allegations former Mississippi Sen. Mike Gunn killed seven goslings in a gas barbecue grill April 25. Gunn is charged with killing geese out of season at his Rankin County, Miss. home. The case highlights the desperate need for animal cruelty legislation in Mississippi.

"Because Mississippi's anti-cruelty law is one of the nation's weakest, actions as heinous as killing goslings in a grill have to be treated as poaching violations rather than cruelty to animals," said The HSUS' Executive Vice President Michael Markarian. "Year after year, the state legislature has failed to fix the state's cruelty laws so they apply to all animals, or to provide felony-level penalties for the worst acts of cruelty."

Prior to the 2008 legislative session, The HSUS ranked Mississippi's animal cruelty law the weakest in the nation and one of only seven states with no felony animal cruelty provisions. During the 2008 session, Mississippi legislators rejected nine separate bills addressing animal cruelty. The Mississippi Farm Bureau has staunchly opposed all efforts to make any form of animal cruelty a felony.

"The capacity to commit premeditated, gratuitous cruelty to animals may speak to something even deeper and darker in the criminal psyche," said John Sullivan, a lobbyist with The HSUS.

In other states' 2008 sessions, Utah and Alaska enacted felony animal cruelty laws, leaving only five states without such provisions. Those states are Arkansas, Idaho, Mississippi, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Illegally killing a Canada goose may be prosecutable under the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, state wildlife illegal hunting laws and local animal cruelty ordinances. The HSUS supports a full investigation into the allegations against Gunn, and the aggressive pursuit of appropriate charges as warranted by the evidence.

Facts:

* Of 45 states with felony penalties for the most egregious acts of animal cruelty, 40 states apply felonies on a first offense, while five states make animal cruelty a felony only after repeated offenses.

* Mississippi Code Section 97-41-1, Living creatures not to be cruelly treated, was held unconstitutional in Davis v. State (Miss. 2001) 806 So.2d 1098. This was the state's basic animal cruelty law. Code sections banning carrying an animal in a cruel manner, confining creatures without food or water, failure of an owner to provide food or sustenance, maliciously injuring dogs or cats and administering poisons to animals are still in place.

Resources:

The HSUS Animal Cruelty Campaign raises public awareness and educates communities about the connection between animal cruelty and human violence while providing a variety of resources to law enforcement agencies, social work professionals, educators, legislators and families. The HSUS offers rewards in animal cruelty cases across the country and works to strengthen laws against animal cruelty. Visit humanesociety.org/cruelty.

The HSUS employs experts on the legal, psychological, political and social aspects of animal cruelty. Information is also available at humanesociety.org/cruelty.

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