Two Senate bills targeting animal cruelty have garnered the attention of an animal rights group with ties to the area.

Members of that group, Mississippi Fighting Animal Cruelty Together (MS-FACT), are heading to Jackson today to make sure something is done about the issue.

The legislation has received particular attention locally following the discovery of a puppy mill in October in nearby Jasper County near Bay Springs.

Richard Stockman, of Bay Springs, pled guilty last week in Jasper County Justice Court to 45 individual counts of animal neglect. However, he will not be serving any jail time due to the incident.

According to information from the Jasper County Justice Court, Stockman is required to pay a fine of $1,000 within 90 days, remove the remaining dogs from his care within 30 days and tear down the pens on the property. He is also ordered to not own or care for dogs used for the purpose of breeding.

Sally Langley, a board member of MS-FACT who helped investigate the incident, said she hopes making animal abuse a felony would deter similar occurrences.

“We feel like this sort of abuse can be directly linked to abuse towards children and people in general,” she said. “I’ve seen it on the cases I’ve gone on. This is one of the first steps in protecting people.”

Of the two bills being proposed, Langley and MS-FACT favor Senate Bill (SB) 2623, which was authored by Sen. Billy Hewes (R-Gulfport).

“We’re asking for a first offense felony for animal cruelty,” she said. “The other bill being brought up (SB 2971) is trying to make it a third offense. That actually weakens the already weak laws we currently have.”

Under SB 2623, if any person “knowingly or with criminal negligence torment, unjustifiably injure, deprive of necessary sustenance, food or drink; or cruelly beat or mutilate... any living vertebrate creature, except human beings and fish, every such offender, for each offense, shall be guilty of cruelty to animals, which is a misdemeanor punishable by not more than one year in jail, a fine of not more than $1,000, or both.”

The bill also includes penalties for aggravated cruelty to a dog or cat of not less than 12 months or more than five years in the Mississippi Department of Corrections, and a fine between $1,500 and $10,000.

Under SB 2971, authored by Sen. Bob M. Dearing (D-Natchez), the punishment for aggravated cruelty to a dog or cat is a misdemeanor carrying a fine between $250 and $1,000, 48 hours imprisonment, or both. A second offense is also a misdemeanor, increasing fines to between $600 and $1,500, imprisonment of five days to one year, and 10 days to one year of community service.

Only under a third offense would aggravated cruelty be considered a felony under SB 2971. However, those penalties include a fine or not less than $5,000 and not less than five years in the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

“We’re antsy,” Langley said. “This is probably one of the single most important pieces of legislation I’ve ever worked on. We’ve been working on it for a good seven to eight months. It’s getting down to crunch time and I’m nervous.”

Langley said current laws haven’t done much to discourage those who commit animal cruelty or neglect. In the past month, she has helped rescue more than 60 animals from a hoarding situation in Lauderdale County, and has picked up several abandoned horses and dogs near death.

“I really don’t know if it’s the economy,” she said. “The type of people doing it are changing. But, I’ve done animal control and animal cruelty investigations for 10 years. It’s always been the same thing over and over and over. I know it’s hard on people right now with the economy, but it’s just a mindset in certain people.”

Langley added that if SB 2623 does not pass, “it will truly be a sad day for Mississippi.”

Jessica Downs of the Animal Rescue League in Laurel said she favors increasing the penalties when it comes to animal abuse and neglect. The ARL often gets malnourished dogs and cats dumped at its location on Moose Drive, some that have to be euthanized.

“If someone dumps an animal here, which is against the law, there’s no way of finding out who this person is,” she said. “If the dog or cat is in such poor health that cannot be rehabilitated, then they’re putting it on our plate to have the animal humanely put to sleep through a vet.

“We see all kinds of neglected animals that are dumped here, and try to rehab them and find them homes,” Downs added. “But, there are those that are not able to be rehabilitated.”

Downs said the Animal Rescue League has no jurisdiction on actual animal neglect or abuse reports.

“When people call and say this is happening, we refer them to the City Pound or the Sheriff’s Department,” she said. “We never hear results except for what is printed already. We can give someone some advice on how to handle a particular situation, but we’re not a witness.”

Downs, who also worked for a veterinary clinic for eight years, said she has firsthand knowledge of the effects of animal abuse and neglect.

“Animals are living things,” she said. “Guess what psychologists say is the next step, it’s people. It should be nipped in the bud before it ever has a chance to progress.”

When informed of Stockman’s sentence, Downs said the currently penalties under the law are “insane.”

“He showed no regard for life... period,” she said. “And, we want this person in our community? There should have been jail time. We have to make an example so other people won’t follow that path also.

“If you’re going to be raising animals, you need to have the know how, and the will and compassion to care,” Downs said. “(At the ARL), we give them the best love and care we can and keep on trucking.”