Editorial: Bills to protect animals

Could 2013 be a better year for animals of all stripes in New Mexico? Possibly — if some of the more than two dozen animal protection bills pass the Legislature and are signed by the governor.

Animal activists say the higher than usual number of bills aimed at protecting pets, wildlife and livestock can be attributed to increased awareness of the connection between animal abuse and people abuse.

The measures include increasing penalties for cruelty and neglect of pets, improving drug testing for racehorses, abolishing coyote hunts and allowing police handlers to adopt for free their retiring canine companions.

A bill that would make extreme cruelty such as starving an animal or letting it freeze to death a fourth-degree felony has made it to the Senate calendar. Another bill that would expand the definition of “extreme cruelty” to include the intentional starving or dehydration of animals to where their lives are endangered is in the Senate Judiciary Committee. In the House, a bill that would restrict use of traps and poisons is in the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Good omens for animals and animal lovers.

How humans treat other sentient beings is a sign of how civilized or uncivilized a society is. Pets and livestock should not be neglected. In a state highly dependent upon sportsmen, tourists and a variety of recreation activities, wildlife should be managed humanely.

This session should be the year New Mexico lawmakers vote to give our animal pals a break.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.