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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Utah's Animal-Protection Laws Rank in Bottom Five

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Tuesday, January 23, 2018   

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah has some of the least punitive laws in the country for animal abuse and neglect, according to a new report. Researchers at the Animal Legal Defense Fund rated the Beehive State 47th in the country in its 12th annual Animal Protection Law rankings, coming out ahead of only Wyoming, Iowa and Kentucky.

Lora Dunn, with the ALDF, says one of the biggest issues for Utah is that it doesn't have a legal provision for including animals in a domestic-violence protection order.

"We know that often, human victims of domestic violence will not leave their abusive situations out of fear for what might happen to their pets - and then, don't leave the home," she says. "So, it's a really important tool for getting these folks out of harm's way, and getting the animals out of harm's way as well."

In Utah, veterinarians also aren't legally required to report suspicion of animal abuse. However, Dunn says the state has made some progress, adding a felony category for cases of extreme abuse or torture. And in 2015, Utah passed a law prohibiting cities from banning all dogs of any specific breed.

The report lists the states in the top five for protecting animals as Illinois at number one, followed by Oregon, Maine, California and Rhode Island.

Dunn says Utah law does not provide for extra penalties for multiple animal victims, or when the abuse is committed in front of a minor.

"Where a child is present during the abuse of an animal, perhaps in a domestic violence-type situation, that the penalty should be increased in those circumstances," she adds.

The report notes that Utah is one of the only states that leaves it up to a judge whether to force a convicted abuser to surrender the animal - something she says is mandatory in many other states.


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