fake news “Animal cruelty now a felony offense” – it’s a headline I’ve been seeing a lot of lately. Sure, this seems like a great step forward and the idea of it is completely appropriate. However, does this law really “mean” anything? In my opinion, the answer to this question is no. For example, Donna Lee of Florence, SC was running a commercial breeding ring (a.k.a. puppy mill). About 133 animals were seized from horrid living conditions. All animals were filthy and were never socialized with humans. During the seizure process, about 40 more animals were born. There were about a dozen deaths. lowcountry dog 14
Vet bills to bring the animals back to health exceeded $100,000. At first, the judge wanted to dismiss the case because Lee is “an old woman” but as the case continued, it seemed like justice would be served. Lee was charged with 39 felony counts (the most in South Carolina history), but plead down to 3 counts. Her sentence is 3 years under suspension with probation. During this time she isn’t allowed to own animals or participate in the breeding business. She was ordered to pay $35,000 restitution over a span of 3 years. That’s it. No hard jail time. She’s hardly being monitored to see if she’s obeying the rules of probation.
