As fire eaters and elephants entertained crowds at the big top at City Hall Plaza, a state animal rights group, decrying a lack of public support, urged voters to ensure the safety of the giant animals and other abused pets and wildlife.
During its Lobby Day for Animals, representatives from the Massachusetts Society for the Protection of Animals supported a variety of anti-cruelty laws and tried to educate residents about animal safety months before lawmakers are set to decide on a range of legislation.
Rep. Peter Koutoujian (D-Waltham) said he sponsored a bill that would add pets to restraining orders to "protect not just animals, but people," adding that those who abuse pets are more likely to abuse their partners as well. Many domestic abuse victims are reluctant to leave abusive partners for fear of leaving their pets behind, Koutoujian said.
As Sen. Robert Hedlund (R-Plymouth) took the podium to speak in support of a bill that would limit abusive practices against circus elephants, he carried a "bullhook," a tool with a sharp, pointed hook used to train elephants.
Hedlund said the bill must clear various legislative hurdles before coming to a vote in the Senate, but he said the brutal nature of the bullhook would convince lawmakers to pass the legislation.
"The most compelling bit of lobbying was when we get a chance to show a video [of the abuse]," he said. "It's become a systematic, institutionalized problem."
Since filing his bill, Hedlund said he has been the butt of jokes -- including the nickname "Elephant Man" -- from other senators, noting that advocates of this and other bills said animal rights legislation faces difficulty gaining respect.
"I don't think a lot of legislators take animal issues seriously," said New Bedford resident Elaine Gerber. "Hopefully, these bills will be passed, because [elephants] already live in miserable conditions as it is."
MSPCA Advocacy Director Kara Holmquist said supporting the proposed legislation, which would also weaken hunting and trapping laws, is an important way to "speak for the animals -- for those who can't."
In addition to criticizing videos of dog fights that are often sold for profit, Holmquist blasted the "bizarre" practice of Internet hunting, which allows people to hunt live animals by directing a remote-controlled rifle. Though the practice is currently limited to one particular service in Texas, she said it deserves an explicit ban.
"We're trying to proactively prevent this from happening in Massachusetts," she said.
Rep. Louis Kafka (D-Norfolk), who previously sponsored a bill allowing students to be excused from dissecting animals in science classes, supported two other bills yesterday aimed to eradicate dog fighting by creating harsher penalties for people who attend fights or own material that depicts dog fights or other forms of animal cruelty.
Though the MSPCA supported most of the bills presented yesterday, the group opposed a proposal that would remove the statewide prohibition on hunting on Sunday.
"We feel that there should be one day when people can go out, hike and not have to worry about hunters," Holmquist said.
Be the first to comment on this article!