[/caption]Ernest Dempsey — The state of Nevada has put in effect a new law that protects animals from cruelty or abuse. By the Cooney's Law, as it has been named, any act of cruelty to animals will be considered as felony in the state of Nevada.
The Cooney’s Law is named after a rescue dog Cooney that was brutally killed by her owner in 2010. Cooney’s stomach was cut pen with a box cutter by her owner Raymond Rios who lived in Reno, Nevada. Since the absence of a state law that would incriminate the cruel killing of Cooney, Rios was charged with only misdemeanor. But the incident motivated advocates and supporters of animal rights to struggle for a new law that would protect animals against various forms of cruelty by classifying such acts as felony.
While the old law had some protection for dogs against repeated instances of cruelty, the Cooney’s Law includes all animals kept by someone as companion or for entertainment (circus shows, for example). Conviction under the Cooney’s Law will result in penalties of one to five years in prison along with a fine of up to $10, 000. One important feature of the law is that breeding young female dogs, those less than 18 months of age, have been made illegal too. Also, giving all dogs and cats rabies shots prior to selling them has been made a legal requirement for all animal keepers.
Nevada’s governor Brian Sandoval got the credit to sign the Cooney’s Law in June this year. Sandoval himself is an animal lover and he keeps dogs, cats, frogs, and a turtle as pets. By signing the Coney’s law, he made Nevada the 45th state of the US to make animal torture a felony crime. Reportedly, the bill for Cooney’s Law was opposed by more than 50% of Republicans in Legislature. The public opinion on Care2 page of the law, however, shows that 100 percent of the people visiting the site want animal cruelty to be made a felony crime in all 50 states of the US.
A local organization in Nevada, called Noah's Animal House, is being credited as championing the bill that led to the enforcement of Cooney’ Law. The organization has welcomed the new law and said that this was what they had been waiting for since now people can seek justice for their pets.
