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Animal Protection Bill heads to Torres
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Posted on May 22 2020
An Animal Rights Protection Bill now moves to Gov. Ralph DLG Torres for enactment, after passing through the House of Representatives yesterday on a unanimous vote, following an amendment from the Senate.
Introduced by House minority leader Rep. Edwin K. Propst (Ind-Saipan), House Bill 21-59, HD1, SS1, prohibits cruelty and theft of animals, and provides penalties for such acts.
Any person who mistreats, abandons, or neglects an animal, whether his own or someone else’s, will be faced with fines and penalties.
Cruel mistreatment covers torturing and inflicting unnecessary physical injury upon an animal, or to kill an animal in a manner that causes suffering to the animal. This includes mutilating, maiming, stabbing, burning, drowning, beating, suffocating, tormenting, crushing, harming, or inflicting physical injury upon an animal.
Cruel neglect is to knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly fail to provide an animal with food, water, or shelter to ensure the animal remains healthy; protection from adverse weather conditions; including the failure to provide medical care when the animal is sick.
“Today, for the first time, we passed the Animal Protection Act, and it’s a great day for animal lovers. …Today, historically, we will have [a legislation] that will protect animals from cruel acts,” Propst said.
In the middle of the deliberation for the bill, a dog in the CNMI, which had a knife embedded 2-3 inches in its head, went viral in social media.
