Governor Kim Reynolds has signed a bill into law that raises the penalty for animal torture to a felony for a first offense, with a potential sentence of up to five years in prison.
“This is already the legal standards across the rest of the country and it’s only common sense that we adopt it here in Iowa because this isn’t just about being punitive,” Reynolds said. “This is about cracking down on intentional, willful and malicious infliction of pain or prolonged death on innocent animals.”
A dog named Ember stood on the table near the bill as Reynolds signed it. The Animal Rescue League of Iowa says Ember was brought to their facility when she was eight weeks old with a broken leg, a broken jaw, a severly injured eye and other injuries. Police had rescued the puppy during a domestic violence investigation.
