[nana911]

That's just it, until they actually dole out 'real' punishments for these types of crimes... means nothing. Animals are just property. Criminal damage to property. As far as the law is concerned they are not living breathing beings. That is the whole crux of the problem. They need to see the correlation between hurting animals and hurting people, then maybe they'll stiffen the penalties. Until they do... the money made far outweighs the fines paid out. These people are wired different than you or I and they see these dogs as cars, houses, furniture. The only way to affect them is through penalty vis a vis, jail time and wallet, and it is going to require a change in the statutes to accomplish that.