On an overcast afternoon at a private stable in Southwest Washington, horse trainer Tobey Spitzer leads a thirteen-year-old horse named Brooke around a covered dirt arena.
Four years ago Brooke was taken from her former owner by investigators with the Oregon Humane Society. Authorities determined that she was being severely underfed. The owner was fined and put on probation. The horse was placed in foster care and then adopted.
“When she came in, she had nothing," Spitzer said. "Her eyes were dead and she was pretty much in just a fright or flight stage.”
Spitzer says that since then, Brooke has regained several hundred pounds and is doing a lot better. She says that Brooke was lucky. Animal crimes are often a low priority for county district attorneys with limited resources. But the state of animal law in Oregon is changing. New developments mean that in the future, cases that involve neglected and abused animals are more likely to be prosecuted.
Last year, Oregon became the first state to create a deputy district attorney position dedicated solely to prosecuting animal crimes statewide. Jacob Kamins, a former Multnomah County deputy DA, was selected for the position.
“These animals are a part of our society. They’re creatures that we care for, and that care for us. It’s to ensure that they are treated humanely that these laws are in place," Kamins said. "It is unprecedented to have somebody focusing on these cases.”
Since his job was created using funds from the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Kamins has worked on over 45 animal neglect and abuse cases around the state.
Scott Beckstead is the Western Regional Director for the Humane Society of the United States.
“There’s just been a steady march over the past several years in the legislature to give animals greater protection in Oregon," Beckstead said.
Beckstead says the creation of Kamins’ position is part of a larger push in Oregon toward taking animal crimes more seriously.
Last year Governor John Kitzhaber signed a bill into law that makes animal neglect involving 11 or more animals a Class C felony. Beckstead says that kind of legislation is why animal advocacy groups consistently rank Oregon among the top five states for the strength of its animal protections.
In August of this year, the Oregon Supreme Court issued two big animal neglect decisions on the same day— State v Fessenden and Dicke and State v Nix.
In the first case, the court found a Douglas County Deputy Sheriff acted lawfully when he seized an emaciated horse from a plaintiff’s property.
The other case involved a defendant from Umatilla County found guilty of neglecting twenty horses and goats. The court had to decide if the defendant should be charged with one count of neglect, or twenty—one for each animal involved. The court decided that the animals did count as individual victims.
Jacob Kamins says the court’s decisions give law enforcement more leeway in their animal investigations. And, he says, they could give judges powerful leverage in sentencing those convicted of animal crimes.
“Certainly if a person is put on probation for these, you want for there to be the possible hammer of that kind of stacked jail sentence," Kamins said.
But some state lawmakers see the recent developments in Oregon’s animal law as cause for concern.
Doug Whitsett is a retired veterinarian, and a Republican state senator from Klamath Falls. He says that many of the recent court decisions and new animal laws run the risk of imposing excessive punishment on farmers and ranchers.
“We’re headed, as I see it, toward the anthropomorphization of animals," Whitsett said, "and I think that’s a wrongheaded way to go."
It isn’t yet clear how this summer’s state Supreme Court decisions will affect sentencing in future animal rights cases. Prosecutor Jacob Kamins’ first case invoking last year’s animal neglect felony law is slated for sentencing this month. What is clear is that advocacy groups, lawyers and legislators will be watching the outcome closely.
State of Oregon Animal Cruelty Deputy District Attorney, Jacob Kamins.
Horse owner David Hopkins and trainer Tobey Spitzer with Brooke, a thirteen-year-old rescue horse.
Copyright 2014 Oregon Public Broadcasting
