Animal Cruelty

Re "Teacher Acquitted in Rabbit's Death," Aug. 30: So a jury decided that the former Huntington Park middle school teacher did not act maliciously by placing a rabbit in a bag and, upon finding it still alive after class, leaving the bag containing the live rabbit in a cabinet for the weekend. I ask, where is he now spreading his kindness? Melinda Levinson Los Angeles

The case of a former city employee accused of treating dogs inhumanely at Los Angeles' West Valley animal shelter in Chatsworth is being referred to prosecutors for review, the head of the animal services agency said Friday. Brenda Barnette told The Times earlier this week that she had not considered a criminal referral for Manuel Boado, 64. He allegedly failed to sedate dogs before euthanizing them, placed them near other dead animals and inserted the euthanizing needle into their jugular veins during euthanasia, which is considered more painful than other locations.

The House on Wednesday passed legislation to make it a federal crime to sell videos depicting animal cruelty in response to a Supreme Court ruling that struck down an earlier version of the law. Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), the bill's chief sponsor, said the measure addressed the court's free-speech concerns while aiming to stop so-called animal crush videos that show women in high heels stomping on puppies, kittens and rabbits. The measure, which passed 416 to 3, headed to the Senate for expected approval.

The tragic carnage and panic that unfolded this week outside Zanesville, Ohio, after a man set free the 56 wild animals he kept on his property were clearly extraordinary events set in motion by a deeply troubled person who later killed himself. But the fact that Terry Thompson — who had been convicted of animal cruelty in 2005 — was even allowed to own lions, tigers and wolves, among other dangerous animals, spotlights the disturbing inadequacy of Ohio law on the issue. Two years ago, the Humane Society of the U.S. singled out Ohio along with Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina and Oklahoma for having the fewest restrictions on keeping wild animals as pets.

The case of a former city employee accused of treating dogs inhumanely at Los Angeles' West Valley animal shelter in Chatsworth is being referred to prosecutors for review, the head of the animal services agency said Friday. Brenda Barnette told The Times earlier this week that she had not considered a criminal referral for Manuel Boado, 64. He allegedly failed to sedate dogs before euthanizing them, placed them near other dead animals and inserted the euthanizing needle into their jugular veins during euthanasia, which is considered more painful than other locations.

The Supreme Court struck down on free-speech grounds Tuesday a federal law that made it a crime to sell videos or photos of animals being illegally killed or tortured. In a 8-1 ruling, the justices overturned the conviction of a Virginia man who sold dog-fighting videos. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., speaking for the court, said free-speech rights do not turn on whether the speech is desirable or has social value. "The 1st Amendment itself reflects a judgment by the American people that the benefits of its restrictions on the government outweigh the costs," Roberts said.

The video images were disturbing -- a tiny white kitten singed with the flame from a lighter; a gray cat struggling beneath a woman's spiked heel; pit bulls tearing into a trapped animal. The Supreme Court has often said that freedom of speech includes ugly and foul language. But this fall the justices will be looking at video clips like these to decide whether selling films of dogfights or animal torture is protected from prosecution under the 1st Amendment. The dispute, expected to be heard in early October, has driven a wedge between traditional free-speech advocates and defenders of the humane treatment of animals.

A woman already facing felony charges for hoarding 196 cats in her home and then skipping out on her arraignment on more animal cruelty charges was arrested. Marilyn Barletta, 62, was arrested by police here Saturday as she left a home in the Russian Hill neighborhood where she lives, according to Police Lt. John Loftus.

In a setback for the animal rights movement, a U.S. appeals court Friday struck down on free-speech grounds a federal law that made it a crime to sell videos of dogfighting and other acts of animal cruelty. All 50 states have laws against the abuse of animals, the appeals court said, but "a depiction of animal cruelty" is protected by the 1st Amendment. The ruling overturns a Virginia man's 2005 conviction, the nation's first under the law. Robert J. Stevens of Pittsville, Va.

A Lancaster woman who operates pony rides at the Santa Monica Main Street Farmer's Market was arrested Sunday after authorities said they discovered 30 of her animals inside a parked trailer, living in squalor. Kathleen Marie Stone, 43, was booked on suspicion of animal cruelty after people heard the animals moaning in the trailer, which was parked in the 500 block of Ocean Park Boulevard, according to Santa Monica Police Lt. Gary Gallinot.

I'm a dog lover and a football fan. And it doesn't bother me to cheer for Michael Vick, even though he's probably better known right now for his animal cruelty than for his gridiron heroics. His conviction for running a dog-fighting ring isn't something he'll soon leave behind, no matter how far his Philadelphia Eagles carry their winning season or how well he plays in the Pro Bowl this month. President Obama drew fire last week when reports surfaced that he thanked the Eagles' owner, Jeffrey Lurie, for giving Vick a chance to rejoin the game after he served his 19-month prison term.

Is 'I'm sorry' enough? Re "Obama draws fire for comments on Vick," Dec. 29 There are many kinds of bad conduct in professional sports, but the conduct of Michael Vick is extremely shocking stuff. President Obama's recent comments not only lessen the impact of Vick's offense, they also help condone animal cruelty. Has the president actually read or looked at what this talented and well-paid athlete was doing to living creatures, animals unable to defend themselves from the pain and torture they endured?

More than three decades after the war in Vietnam, a Marine named Robert Lucius had a moment of reckoning on the road to Lai Chau. A naval attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, he was bound for a rural clinic with a donation of medical equipment. When his car was passed by a motorbike with a wicker basket full of dogs, he locked eyes with one of them. "There was an immediate sense of connection," he said. "You could see the fear, the dread, the helplessness. " A vision raced through his mind: Liberate the dogs.

Exactly how much space is a chicken legally entitled to have in a California henhouse? A Modesto farmer sued the state and the Humane Society of the United States on Wednesday seeking to answer that question, as egg producers begin overhauling their operations to meet an anti-cruelty measure that was approved by state voters in 2008. The lawsuit, filed in Fresno County Superior Court by egg farmer J.S. West, is asking for a judge to interpret and clarify California's Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, known as Proposition 2. The 2008 measure, approved by more than 63% of the voters, banned small, confining crates or cages for veal calves, egg-laying hens and pregnant sows.

In April, the Supreme Court struck down a law making it a crime to sell depictions of cruelty to animals. The 8-1 ruling, which reversed a Virginia man's conviction for selling dogfighting videos, was significant because the court was rejecting the federal government's request that it declare a whole category of expression outside the protection of the 1st Amendment. Now the House has overwhelmingly passed a narrower ban on the sale and distribution of so-called crush videos that raises the same constitutional problem.

The House on Wednesday passed legislation to make it a federal crime to sell videos depicting animal cruelty in response to a Supreme Court ruling that struck down an earlier version of the law. Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), the bill's chief sponsor, said the measure addressed the court's free-speech concerns while aiming to stop so-called animal crush videos that show women in high heels stomping on puppies, kittens and rabbits. The measure, which passed 416 to 3, headed to the Senate for expected approval.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide whether California and six other states can forbid the sale to minors of violent video games that show images of humans being maimed, killed or sexually assaulted. California's law, like all the others, has been blocked based on a free-speech challenges lodged by the video gaming industry. But in something of a surprise, the high court said it would hear California's appeal and consider reviving the laws. The move came less than a week after the justices, in a 8-1 ruling, struck down a federal law on free-speech grounds that made it a crime to sell videos of illegal acts of animal cruelty.

A nearly unanimous Supreme Court on Tuesday delivered a resounding reaffirmation of the importance of free speech in a case arising from the sordid "sport" of dogfighting. As is often true in 1st Amendment cases, the victor in this decision is an unsympathetic figure. Robert Stevens, a Virginia pit bull breeder, advertised videos portraying dogfights, as well as an "instructional video" on using pit bulls to hunt boar. Stevens was sentenced to 37 months in prison for violating a federal law criminalizing the creation, possession or sale of a "depiction of animal cruelty."