Law Hides Animal Cruelty Cases

Last month, a new animal cruelty law went into effect in Nevada that increases the penalties for torturing or killing animals from misdemeanors to felonies, but a last-minute amendment makes the abuse cases secret from the public. Nicknamed “Cooney’s Law” after a dog named Cooney was brutally killed in a Reno hotel, the new measure has animal-rights activists concerned that it limits rescue organizations’ abilities to investigate cruelty cases and seek assistance from the public to care for abused animals. Gina Greisen of Nevada Voters for Animals tells the Reno Gazette-Journal, “Not being able to talk about these cases makes it difficult for us as animal welfare advocates. The whole point was the protect the reporting party, not the alleged offender.”