By: Candace Ritz - NJ Team Lead
After a German shepherd was found slain on the side of a New Jersey road, residents have been demanding that law enforcement and government officials do more to stop animal cruelty.
The German shepherd, which was given the name Justice, is believed to have been cruelly tortured and possibly used as a drug mule. His lifeless body was found on a rural Fairfield Township road on April 18th. Justice was found cut open with his snout taped shut. It is believed that he was still alive when his killers gutted him because he had bitten through his own tongue.
The gruesome details of this act of animal cruelty have ignited a firestorm of outrage from the public. New Jersey residents are demanding that law enforcement officials and prosecutors aggressively pursue the perpetrators of acts of animal cruelty and punish them to the fullest extent of the law.
A memorial service was held for Justice in Vineland, NJ on Saturday, July 21, 2007. Reports indicate that as many as 700 people gathered outside the Cumberland County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to show their respect for Justice. Such a large turnout should send a clear message to law enforcement officials and legislators that the public will not tolerate animal cruelty and that this is a very important issue, particularly to New Jersey residents.
Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew was a guest speaker at the memorial for Justice where he urged the public to join his fight to revise New Jersey’s 125-year old animal cruelty laws. The bill he is proposing is called Angel’s Law. The legislation (A-2649), "Angel's Law," would update the state's anti-cruelty law to better protect animals by making the abuse, neglect and abandonment of an animal a criminal offense punishable by jail time and steep fines.
In light of the Vick allegations, the public is now getting informed about what those in the animal welfare community have known for a very long time – animal cruelty is prevalent in the United States and the laws protecting animals are not severe enough. Let’s all work hard and lobby government officials so that we can have stronger laws protecting animals and so that animals like Justice did not die in vain.
How you can help:
Anyone with information regarding the Justice case is asked to call the SPCA at (856) 691-1500.
To send e-mails to state legislators, go to
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us./
Click on “Contact Us” at the top of the page to the right.
Then go down midway down the webpage to where it says “Your state legislators welcome your thoughts …” and click on “Complete this form.”
Select a municipality and then click on “Find Representatives.” Choose the stat e repr esentatives you wish to e-mail by place a check in the boxes to the left of “Select Your Representatives.”
Fill out the electronic form with your message and click send.
To E-mail the N.J. Department of Agriculture, go online to:
http://www.state.nj.us/agriculture/contact.shtml
