Letter: No affect for ranchers working with livestock

I find Melvin Leland’s Tuesday letter about Measure 5, a bill that would prevent the most extreme acts of cruelty to dogs, cats and horses in North Dakota, to be very misleading and confusing to voters.

Leland’s claims are very contradictory. He criticizes the measure’s scope, arguing that it is too restrictive while at the same time claiming that it is too broad.

I moved to Dickinson about a year ago and it came as a surprise to me that acts such as burning, crushing, suffocating, impaling or dismembering an animal renders merely a misdemeanor charge in our state.

In fact, North Dakota is one of only two states left in the country without a felony animal cruelty law.

Measure 5 would prevent such extreme cruelty to dogs, cats and horses, those animals most commonly held as pets, by defining such acts as felony crimes. This ensures that those who perform such despicable acts on pets are not merely given a slap on the wrist but are appropriately punished.

In order to protect the agricultural heritage of North Dakota, the measure was carefully written to cover only dogs, cats and horses. In fact, the measure contains specific exemptions for agriculture, hunting and other common and traditional practices of North Dakota.

And as opposed to what Leland claims, farmers and ranchers who work with livestock would not be affected.

Leland’s claims are misleading and unfounded. We are a state that respects and cares for our animals.

Let’s make sure that our laws accurately reflect our values by voting yes on Measure 5 on Election Day.

Caroline Justice, Dickinson

Tags: opinion, letter, letters