LANSING, MI (AP)-- Legislation up for a vote in the Michigan Senate would reclassify and stiffen criminal penalties for people who treat animals cruelly or neglect them.
The bills are expected to be approved Tuesday and sent to the House.
They would create harsher felony penalties if people abuse or neglect 10 or more animals. The current law would be extended to specifically cover breeders and pet shop owners.
Senators also propose creating a tiered system to classify degrees of torturing or killing animals.
Someone convicted of killing or mutilating an animal now gets up to four years in prison.
The legislation would increase prison time to up to 10 years if the animal was a pet and the defendant killed it to hurt or threaten another person.