05:27 PM MST on Friday, March 3, 2006

BOISE -- Idaho ranks dead last in the country for laws against animal abuse.  That’s according to the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

Brian Holmes-KTVB

Idaho ranked last in the nation for laws against animal abuse, according to a new report.

The Idaho Humane Society agrees, and says our laws need to be tougher.

“We have what are considered to be some of the weaker laws in the nation protecting animals,” said Susan Clark, Idaho Humane Society.

Idaho along with Utah, Kentucky, Hawaii and North Dakota are on the unsavory list of the five best states to be an animal abuser.

That doesn’t' mean that Idaho has more animal abusers.

What it does mean is that if you are caught abusing animals -- whether it's dog fighting, cockfighting or neglect, -- you can only be charged with a misdemeanor.

“I think it does affect our state image, in a negative way. We have a state of so many people who really care about animals and animal issues. I don't think it's an accurate reflection of our state's view of animals as a whole,” said Clark.

Dog and horses are the most abused animals.  But abuse and neglect doesn't just mean physically beating an animal or staging dog fights - it has a broad range of definitions.

“Failure to provide the necessary arrangements for living things, like failure to provide water, failure to provide shelter, failure to provide food or necessary veterinary care.  Those all constitute animal abuse or neglect,” said Clark.

Lawmakers have looked at legislation this session that would curb one form of animal abuse.  However, a bill to make dog fighting a felony failed to make it out of a House committee.