Wisconsin Lawmaker Seeks Tougher Animal Cruelty Law After Man Shoots Dog with Bow and Arrow

GazetteXtra.com reports that because a Milton, WI, man has been accused of shooting a dog with a bow and arrow for essentially no reason at all, a state legislator has proposed a tougher law against pet assaults, making the type of crime allegedly committed a felony in the future, instead of a misdemeanor. 

According to the criminal complaint, Dale A. Moore told a Rock County sheriff’s deputy that the dog wasn’t on his property and wasn’t barking, growling or approaching him when he shot an arrow into it. The case so affected Rep. Kim Hixson (D-Whitewater) that he is working to introduce “Casey’s Law,” which would “allow prosecutors to pursue felony charges in cases of unprovoked assaults on pets involving a deadly weapon.” The law is named after the Great Pyrenees, Casey, who was shot with an arrow May 21st while walking with his owner along railroad tracks in Lima Township. Hixson announced “Casey’s Law” this week, just days before Moore appeared in court on misdemeanor charges of mistreating animals and disorderly conduct. “Pets are not merely animals living among us—they are friends and family,” Hixson said in a news release announcing “Casey’s Law.” “As a state, we cannot allow cruelty to companion animals to occur in any form.”

Stricter animal abuse laws are absolutely necessary to deter this type of behavior from occurring now and in the future. Not only was Moore not provoked by Casey, it appears that Moore shot him with the arrow just because he could. At least he will have to answer in some way for what he did to Casey, who thankfully survived surgery after the injury. We need more such felony laws to protect our animals from those who act recklessly.