College Times

Issue date: 1/22/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Dave Iba/College Times Students lend their signatures to help stop animal cruelty on the bill titled, "Henry's Law" after the bill's author's own dog.

Media Credit: Dave Iba/College Times Rhonda Kamper, along with her dog, Henry, were collecting signatures for a petition to pass a bill that would demand the necessities for pets in the state.

Henry, along with owner Rhonda Kamper, visited UVSC's campus to help promote animal cruelty awareness and to help get a petition signed to show support for Henry's Law, also known as SB 102.

On April 26, 2007 Henry was chased by Kamper's ex-husband, Marc Vincent, with a leaf blower-damaging his eye permanently-and then put into a 200-degree oven for five minutes, leaving him with severe scarring on his chest and fusing his front toes together.

Vincent was later charged with intentional animal cruelty, which is presently a class A misdemeanor. The maximum sentence Utah currently has to offer is one year in jail and a $2500 fine. Kamper is now working to see Utah law upgrade animal cruelty to a first offence felony. In the U.S., 43 states have felony provisions for animal cruelty, and Kamper's pledge is to make Utah number 44.

Henry and Kamper's visit is meant to help get a petition signed in order to get Henry's Law passed.

"Utah County is currently our biggest opponent. Every Senator in Utah County voted against Henry's Law except Senate President John Valentine" Kamper said, "It's going to take everyone involved to get this bill passed."

The bill would demand necessary food, care, shelter and water be provided to pets, and includes provisions for increasing penalties in instances of serious animal injury. The bill does not prohibit the use of electric collars for the purpose of animal training, nor does it alter lawful hunting practices. Exemptions to some of the bills provisions include animals kept and used for training hunting dogs, animals kept or owned by zoological parks, and those animals temporarily in the state as part of a circus or traveling exhibition.

To read the bill you can visit http://le.utah.gov/~2008/bills/sbillint/sb0102.htm

If you would like to show your support for this bill, you can contact your local representatives. Provo residents may contact Curtis S. Bramble at (801) 373-1040 or through his e-mail, cbramble@utahsenate.org

Orem residents can contact Margaret Dayton, e-mail mdayton@utahsenate.org

For more information, or to sign the petition, go to http://www.helpushelpthem.org

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