Staff reports | South Carolina lawmakers can toughen animal protection laws by adding more resources and requiring more training for law enforcement officers, one of the state’s leading animal advocates said today.
“Our animal cruelty laws are strong enough,” said Charleston Animal Society (CAS) President and CEO Joe Elmore of Charleston. “Our problem is the capacity to enforce those, both with attitude and resources.”
Earlier this week, the Society said more than 330 cases of animal cruelty have been reported across the state since the beginning of the year.
“Animals are the most vulnerable of God’s creations,” Elmore said at a Wednesday press conference with other animal advocates. “They cannot speak for themselves. They cannot testify against their abusers. We are calling on the community to speak for them … to support law enforcement efforts to pursue these crimes. You have got to get involved.”
He added high rates of animal cruelty seemed to coincide with rising violent crimes against people. Elmore said in his 15 years at society, he’s never seen numbers of animal cruelty as high as now.
“Links have been established and affirmed and reaffirmed between animal cruelty and human violence,” he said. “Humans are at risk too. It’s no secret that violent crimes are skyrocketing in our state, and this is happening with crimes against animals also. Intentional animal abusers … are also abusing children, women, the elderly — anyone who cannot defend themselves.”
State gets a C-minus grade
Elmore said while the state may have enough laws on the books to protect animals, it gets a C-minus grade in using the laws to actually protect animals.
The best way to improve that is to offer more training and resources for law enforcement and animal control officers, he said. Too often, cases are dropped because investigations are conducted by code enforcement officers, not trained investigators.
According to the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), South Carolina ranked in the bottom tier of states in laws protecting animals. The organization, which said the state ranked 44th from the top, said it had well-defined care requirements for animals regarding food, water and shelter. But it said the Palmetto state was lacking because:
- Veterinarians aren’t required to report suspected cruelty to animals.
- Poultry birds aren’t protected by strong animal cruelty laws. (In South Carolina, cockfighting is a misdemeanor, but legal loopholes allow possession of cocks for fighting and possession of cockfighting implements, according to the Humane Society of the United States.)
- There’s no statutory requirement for mental health evaluation or treatment for accused abusers, such as hoarders.
The ALDF list also said the state didn’t have a “pre-conviction forfeiture” requirement for suspected abusers to turn over animals before cases are heard in court, but Elmore said the state has been generally taken care of by the legislature. A problem, however, is that it’s often too expensive for rural counties and municipalities to pay for taking care of abused animals if they’re seized. He said the state needed to make changes to allow it to fund care if local governments couldn’t afford to provide safe havens in cruelty cases.
Recent cruelty cases
Earlier this week came a report of a case of a dog found in a ditch in Adam’s Run in Charleston County. It had a broken leg and an apparent gunshot wound to the head. The dog’s injuries were too severe for recovery, and she was euthanized. CAS is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the felony conviction of the person responsible for the death of the dog. The case is currently under investigation by the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office.
Other 2022 cruelty cases across South Carolina include, according to the society:
- A man killed a puppy in the Lowcountry by throwing him from a balcony.
- A Charleston-area dog was chronically abused and allegedly killed by a family member.
- 125 roosters euthanized after a massive cockfighting ring bust in Dorchester County.
- A dog found in Elloree appeared to have been stabbed.
- Three separate Orangeburg County dogs with gunshot wounds.
- Some 150 dogs seized from a Pickens County puppy mill.
- Almost 50 cats seized from hoarding case in Colleton County.
- A Clarendon County man killed a hound by shooting her in a hole.
- A Union County man tortured a dog by screwing his paws to a wall.
“We have a partnership where we provide forensics and veterinary forensics and support of law enforcement officers and animal patrol officers pursuing these crimes, but working together in partnership, we can only do so much,” Elmore said. “It really is up to you stepping forward to end this madness.”
- Andy Brack and Skyler Baldwin of the Charleston City Paper contributed to this story. Have a comment? Send to: feedback@statehousereport.com.
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