A bill that would have made animal cruelty a felony in South Dakota has been rejected by the state Senate Ag committee. A report in the Examiner dot com says Ag groups lobbied heavily against Senate Bill 171, saying current animal abuse and cruelty statutes in South Dakota are working. The bill excluded farming and ranching practices but ag groups were heavily against the measure because it was supported by the Humane Society of the United States.
The North Dakota state Senate passed a felony animal cruelty and abuse bill last week.
North and South Dakota are the two states in the nation without felony laws against egregious animal cruelty