MONTPELIER, Vt. -
Vermont animal lovers are pushing lawmakers to hold people more accountable.
They met in Montpelier Thursday for Human Lobby Day to show support for a new bill that would strengthen animal abuse laws.
"The time it takes to go through the criminal court system it just doesn't work with having to care for these animals for an extended period of time," Northeast Regional Director of the Humane Society of the US Joanne Bourbeau said.
It's why Bourbeau and other members of the HSUS support stricter laws against animal abuse with the support of Governor Peter Shumlin.
The issue that drove change is the case of Rick Fletcher who is charged with animal cruelty towards six of his horses.
The Humane Society would like criminal cases to be tried within 42 days of a person being charged. They're also proposing to give law enforcement more flexibility in writing criminal tickets to animal abuse suspects.
Part of the problem with animal care after abuse is money. The bill would give people charged with abuse a bond to pay that would fund the care of the animals.
"It's not fair for a non-profit volunteer organization to have to spend pretty much their entire budget caring for horses that were cruelly treated," Bourbeau said.
The bill would cover all abused animals in Vermont and hopefully lead to their quick recovery.
"We want these animals to be able to come out of harms way and be cared for without bankrupting our nonprofit sector here in Vermont," Bourbeau said.
