Stoicheff Bill Would Make Shooting Pets A Felony

Rep. James Stoicheff wants to create a new felony charge for shooting animals on a neighbor’s property.

But former legislator Perry Swisher said lawmakers should consider the costs before finding more ways to send people to prison.

Stoicheff, the House minority leader, said his proposal stems from a Bonner County case in which neighbors were suspected of shooting a man’s dogs.

His bill would make it a felony, which can mean a prison term for the offender, to trespass while shooting animals or intending to shoot them.

“It’s such a cruel act,” Stoicheff said. “Bloody terrorism, that’s what it is.”

Idaho is spending $130 million in the next two years on new prison cells, mainly to make room for people who commit crimes that are not felonies in most states.

The state needs to consider the costs when it creates any new felonies, Swisher told a Wednesday speakers’ forum.

Stoicheff said the costs would be minor because few people would be prosecuted under the law. , DataTimes