Mississippi’s New Law

A new Mississippi animal cruelty law is now in place, making abuse to cats and dogs a felony on the second offense. After years of working on legislation, the state’s Farm Bureau finally sat with The Humane Society of the United States’ (HSUS) Mississippi director Lydia Sattler to create a bill that both sides could agree on. It is now no longer legal to leave companion animals outside in unbearable weather without shelter, and rabbits will also be protected under the bill. HSUS says it will continue to support efforts to make the law stronger, and hopes to make animal abuse a felony on the first offense. Now only three remaining states, Idaho, North Dakota, and South Dakota, have yet to make it a felony to abuse companion animals.