A rural lawmaker has invited Coloradans who think they were unfairly treated by animal-welfare officials to tell their stories Wednesday at the state Capitol.
Rep. Wes McKinley, D-Walsh, said he knows a woman who was cited for animal cruelty because a horse had mud on its feet.
“One person got cited because they said her cow was 50 pounds underweight,” he said.
McKinley, who is sponsoring a bill that has riled animal-welfare activists and others, said the owners Wednesday will tell their stories at what he called a “listening committee.” It’s not an official committee, just a place for people to be heard.
The official committee hearing is Monday when House Ag hears McKinley’s measure. House Bill 1063 makes several changes to the requirements and procedures for animal control officers, changes that have some opponents up in arms.
Even Denver mayoral candidate James Mejia even came out swinging Tuesday, asking the Denver delegation and others to oppose the measure.
He said McKinley’s bill would strip the ability of non-governmental agencies to investigate claims of animal cruelty and shifts responsibility solely on city police, sheriff and animal control agencies. Additionally, non-profits who provide care for injured animals will not be able to recover costs and may have to return animals to abusive owners unless the owner is actually convicted of animal cruelty.
