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Motion of the Council of Allegheny County urging the General Assembly and Governor to enact House Bill 113, an Act amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for the grading of the offense of cruelty to animals and introduced on January 21, 2015, with all deliberate speed.
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Whereas, the criminal offenses constituting cruelty to animals are currently defined pursuant to the existing provisions of 18 Pa.C.S.A. §5511; and
Whereas, the vast majority of these offenses are graded as summary offenses under the existing provisions of §5511; and
Whereas, perhaps the most significant offense involving animal cruelty - killing or maiming a domestic animal belonging to someone else - is currently graded as a misdemeanor of the second degree, regardless of the number of times that the offense is committed, under the existing language of §5511; and
Whereas, there appears to be a clear link between animal cruelty and violent offenses committed against people, with one study finding that, in families under supervision due to physical abuse of their children, pet abuse was also present in 88% of those families (Broidy, L. M., Nagin, D. S., Tremblay, R. E., Bates, J. E., Brame, B., Dodge, K., Fergusson, D., Horwood, J., Loeber, R., Laird, R., Lynam, D., Moffitt, T., Petitt, G. S., & Vitario, F. (2003). "Developmental trajectories of childhood disruptive behaviors and adolescent delinquency: A six site cross national replication." Development and Psychopathology, 39(2), 222-245); and
Whereas, of 36 convicted multiple murderers questioned in another study, 46% admitted committing acts of animal torture as adolescents (Cohen, W. (1996). Congressional Register, 142(141), Oct. 3); and
Whereas, a 2001-2004 study by the Chicago Police Department "revealed a startling propensity for offenders charged with crimes against animals to commit other violent offenses toward human victims….” and found that, of those arrested for a...
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