Proponents of a bill that would put more teeth into large-scale animal cruelty laws told members of a legislative panel today that stiffer penalties are needed to discourage so-called puppy mills in Maine. Sen. Deborah Simpson, of Lewiston, and York County District Attorney Mark Lawrence are backing the legislation that would make abuse of 25 or more animals a felony instead of a misdemeanor. But some claim the bill unfairly targets those who simply might not be able to take care of their pets.

Norma Worley investigates animal abuse cases for the state Department of Agriculture. Ordinarily, most of her time is devoted to assuring the welfare of cats, dogs and horses.

But there are also occasions when her investigations become more involved, and even dangerous, such as the time when state police were called in to investigate a woman for possessing animals in violation of a court order. "This situation almost cost State Trooper Aaron Turcotte his life," she says.

Worley says the trooper was trying to enforce an arrest order from the court, as the woman had not paid her fines in connection with animal abuse violations. "When he and another trooper confronted the owner, she fired a Taser in an attempt to injure Trooper Turcotte. Fortunately, the other trooper was able to disarm her and Turcotte was not seriously injured."

Worley says authorities would have been better served that day if Maine had not done away with a provision that imposed probation on abuse animal owners. Taht provision was lifted at the request of corrections officials, who said animal abuse cases were too expensive to assign to state probation officers.

Some lawmakers believe it's time to revisit Maine's animal cruelty laws. "There have been several cases recently involving animal cruelty on a large scale," says state Sen. Deborah Simpson, an Auburn Democrat. "Some involved unscrupulous breeders and some involved people known as 'hoarders' who compulsively collect animals even though they cannot care for them."

Simpson is sponsoring the bill that would elevate animal abuse violations involving 25 or more animals from a misdeameanor to a felony. And as Simpson explained to the Legislature's Agriculture Committee, it also restores the option of imposing probation for violations of regular misdeameanor animal cruelty cases.

"I think this is critical because people that engage in this behavior, whether as breeders or as hoarders, have a very great tendency to repeat their activities," Simpson said. "A period of observation, such as probation, where a criminal's behavior is being monitored could help cut down on recidivism."

There were not many opponents to the bill. But David Rair, of Friendship, says the legislation would unintentionally ensnare people with mental or physical disabilities who do not intentionally mean to hurt their pets.

"This is a well-intentioned bill, but it piles on mentally ill people," he said.

Proponents of the legislation say that in such cases, the state's first priority would be to address the needs of the mentally ill pet owner, rather than seek prosecution.