The Senate Agriculture and Natural Resource Committee passed Senate Bill 46 Tuesday. It makes animal cruelty a felony in the state. A similar bill was proposed last year, but didn’t pass.
South Dakota is currently the only state which does not punish animal cruelty offenders with a felony charge. Last year a similar piece of legislation was defeated in committee because the language didn’t include animals used in agriculture. State Veterinarian Dustin Oedekoven is one of the proponents, who helped write this session’s animal cruelty bill. He says after last year’s defeat, it required groups from throughout the state to come together and compromise.
"Us being the Ag groups, the proponents of the bill and myself, to get together and find our common ground on this issue. And as uncomfortable as a challenge that was, I believe it was the right thing to do. As the last state without a felony penalty for animal cruelty, we need to solve this issue and move on to the bigger challenges that we all face," Oedekoven says.
Oedekoven says this year’s legislation includes many voices from around the state, making it a much stronger bill. Senate Bill 46 passed the Senate Ag and Natural Resource Committee unanimously and sent it to the Senate floor.
