Utah Law May Authorize Indiscriminate Decapitation, Shooting, Bludgeoning of Feral Animals

Humane Decapitation?

Public outrage inundated the e-mail box of Representative Curt Oda [R]-Clearfield, the Utah representative that proposed the induction of Utah House Bill 210 into legislation. The bill, makes an exception to the animal cruelty statute, which officially became a state felony in 2008 (after nearly 3 years of lobbying), by exempting the public killing of feral animals, pests and rodents” from state law. This exemption would allow regular citizens to police for “feral” animals and dispose of them “in a humane manner” so as to “cause the least amount of suffering” as the law further stated.

The legislation goes further to deem “decapitation, shooting, bow and arrow and blows to the cranium” as proper forms of disposal. Rep. Oda’s proposition has stirred a public outcry from opponents of the bill, which, aside from the implicit cruelty of the bill, disagree with its allocation of responsibility of “humane euthanasia” to the ordinary citizens, citing that this would give reason to indiscriminately.

Gene Baierschmidt, executive director of the Humane Society of Utah, said the change could allow people to kill feral cats indiscriminately.

Oda’s defense was less than canny and somewhat unjustified. As far as feral animals were concerned, Oda believed that feral animals sometimes needed to be killed, especially when they can’t be caught or they carry diseases. His defense struck a more personal tone when he said that he grew up with animals all his life, and doesn’t “dislike” cats. but apparently hates pigeons because they are “dirty and nasty”, further mentioning a friend who lost a lung “because of toxic feces”.

The emails Oda’s recieved carried a similar disapproving tone yet varied in nature; 2 emails received threatened violent reprisals if the law were to be passed as well as Oda’s life.

-Konstantin Ravvin