By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
After nearly a year of work introducing and shepherding two bills though the Michigan Legislature, newly reelected state Rep. Tommy Brann received a early Christmas present when his animal abuse prevention and prosecution law — the “Howie Bill” — was signed by then Gov. Rick Snyder as one of this last official acts.
The Governor’s approval followed the mid-December Senate approval of Rep. Brann’s House-approved bills, when they gained support from 33 of 37 state senators voting.
Rep. Brann, a Republican who represents the 77th District, which includes the City of Wyoming and Byron Township, told WKTV in December that House Bills 4332 and 4333 would “increase the penalties of animal cruelty crimes in Michigan and actually puts into law that pets are companion animals. I nicknamed it the ‘Howie Bill,’ after my late dog.”
The resulting new law will “make it a crime to knowingly torture, mutilate or kill an animal with the intent to cause mental distress or exert control over a person,” he previously said.
Coincidentally, a similar law was passed on the federal level, an effort led by U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-Mich.).
Sen. Peters announced in mid-December the Congressional passage of the bipartisan legislation, also introduced with Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nevada) to help protect domestic violence survivors and their pets.
The Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act expands existing federal domestic violence protections to include threats or acts of violence against a survivor’s pet, and “helps provide funding for facilities that harbor survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence and their pets, or are looking to do so.”
The legislation passed the Senate and the House of Representatives as part of a larger bill setting agriculture policy and later was signed by President Donald Trump.
“Survivors of domestic violence should never have to decide between leaving an abusive relationship or staying and risking their safety to protect their pets,” Sen. Peters said in supplied material. “This bill will help ensure more safe havens for survivors and their pets are available.”
According to the statement from Sen. Peters’s office, multiple studies have shown that domestic abusers often seek to manipulate or intimidate their victims by threatening or harming their pets, but according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), only three percent of domestic violence shelters across the country accept pets. The ASPCA reported that a study in Wisconsin found 68 percent of domestic violence survivors reported their abusers were also violent towards their animals.
A similar study found that as many as 25 percent of domestic violence survivors have returned to an abusive partner out of concern for their pet. A separate 2007 study found that as many as one-third of domestic abuse survivors reported they delayed leaving an abuser for an average of two years out of concern for the safety of their pet.
Statistics and studies aside, Rep. Brann’s passion for protecting abused persons and their pets was very personal.
“Justice should include family pets because they could be used for manipulation or harm just like our loved ones on two legs,” Brann said early in 2018 as his “Howie Bill” moved through the state House. “As a pet lover myself, it pains me that animal abuse continues to be a growing a problem in Michigan and we absolutely need to address it. … This legislation will be a solution to address this awful problem.”
