A group of legislators hope to derail a bill which would heighten penalties for abusing an animal. Last year, the bill was the subject of controversy in the Iowa House when a group of lawmakers objected because the penalties the bill outlined for animal abuse were tougher than the penalties for domestic abuse. This year, Senators have re-written the bill, but it still sets penalties for animal abuse that are higher than domestic abuse. Representative Minnette Doderer has long sought to make Iowa’s domestic abuse laws tougher. Doderer, who is a democrat from Iowa City, says no one should get away with torturing an animal, but she says it’s wrong for legislators to make the penalty to abusing an animal worse than abusing a spouse.
