Pet-cruelty law sought

When Rhonda Kamper's ex-husband shoved her dog, Henry, into an oven and cooked him for five minutes, it was a wake-up call.

Having her dog tortured was more than enough to persuade Kamper she needed to distance herself from Marc Vincent.

"It's a stepping stone," she said. "A lot of serial killers started out doing stuff to animals."

Henry, a half-Chihuahua, half-dachshund, survived the attack, but some of the pads on his paws fused together. He also lost an eye when Vincent assaulted him with a leaf blower.

"He's doing OK," Kamper said of her pet.

Kamper said she was shocked to learn that Utah lacks an animal cruelty felony law. "I didn't know the laws were so lame in the state."

Vincent's sentencing for torturing Henry came against a backdrop of public outrage. Judge William Barrett gave him six months — half the maximum — and a $500 fine.

Now, Kamper wants to see Utah adopt a felony animal cruelty law. And some lawmakers agree with her.

Sen. Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake, is working on a yet-to-be-numbered bill that would create a felony charge for some cases of animal abuse.

"It's a major problem," he said. "Some of the data indicate people who torture animals make the leap to humans."

Davis' bill is essentially the same as one Rep. Scott Wyatt, R-Logan, has run the past two sessions in the House. In the 2006 session Wyatt's bill passed the House but never made it out of the Senate Rules Committee.

Davis said that both Wyatt and the Utah Humane Society have asked him to help out with the issue.

Davis said those who have resisted the bill acted out of concerns that a felony law could negatively impact ranchers and others who work with animals, including such categories as rodeo or zoo workers.

"This is not a piece of legislation that is extremist," he said. "I'm a fan of rodeos and a supporter of the zoo."

Davis said the bill has exemptions that would protect farmers. He said that the objections have been ironed out during the past two sessions.

So far this session, Davis hasn't heard of any opposition to the bill.

He sees the issue as simple.

"We're talking about putting a dog in an oven, rendering an animal to torture, dismembering," he said. No society should tolerate that, he said.

If the bill faces opposition, it's likely to come from rural legislators who want to protect farming.

Sen. Darin Peterson, R-Nephi, said he is leery of establishing an animal cruelty felony.

Peterson isn't sympathetic to those who would abuse animals. "I raise livestock for a living," he said. "We've had animals shot with BBs, arrows."