The article below is somewhat understated and modest in relating this court victory. To the best of this blogger's knowledge, the order of protection entered on behalf of this family duck was not only the first time in Suffolk County, but the first time in New York state - and, I believe - the entire U.S. - that such an order was entered outside of domestic violence cases:
Like any other victim of a violent attack, Circles the duck now has legal protection - an order of protection against the man charged as her assailant.In addition to getting shot in the neck by a pellet gun, Suffolk prosecutors said Circles, of Mastic, managed to make legal history yesterday.
"To my knowledge, it's the first order of protection for a pet in Suffolk County outside of domestic violence cases," said prosecutor Michelle Auletta.
Read the rest of Circles' story here...
Remarkably, this order was entered barely two years after the first legislation was enacted - in another state, no less - to permit companion animals to be listed in a protective order. This is lightspeed progress compared to how slowly the law traditionally moves. To read more about how one woman turned her personal tragedy into this law that is now taking hold across the U.S., see the post below.
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And to think, Nevada just last year enacted laws defining threats of harm or actual harm to pets as acts of domestic violence.
We also enacted a law in the Animal Cruelty Chapter stating “a person shall not allow a cat or dog to remain unattended in a parked or standing motor vehicle during a period of extreme heat or cold or in any other manner that endangers the health or safety of the cat or dog.” A violation of this statute is amisdemeanor.
The new Animal Cruelty statute also allows certain public officers and others to “use any force that is reasonable and necessary under the circumstances to remove from a motor vehicle a cat or dog that is allowed to remain in the motor vehicle."
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