Three Not-So-Little Pigs Lead to Hawaii Felony Animal Cruelty Law

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Hawaii now protects pets, including pet pigs, with a felony animal cruelty law.

The Aloha State has stronger legal protection for pets at last.

On June 1, 2007, Hawaii became the 43rd state to enact a felony animal cruelty law when Governor Linda Lingle signed into law S.B. 1655. Introduced by Senator Clayton Hee (D, 23), the law states that anyone who "intentionally or knowingly tortures or mutilates, or causes the torture or mutilation of any pet animal" is guilty of a class C felony.

The passage of S.B. 1655 has been a long time in coming. For years, animal advocates fought for Hawaii to join other states with strong, felony-level laws for animal cruelty. While the bills always had tremendous public support, they were heretofore defeated in the legislature.

	©Linda Lingle
	Hawaii Senator Clayton Hee introduced the bill.

In late 2006, the well-publicized killing of Porky, a pet pig living on Oahu, touched off a wave of public pressure that ultimately convinced the legislature to provide stronger protection for animals. Raised from a tiny piglet, Porky was a beloved pet living with a Maui family when a group of men broke onto the property and slaughtered him. Despite the desperate pleas of Porky's horrified owners, the men stabbed Porky repeatedly to death in front of their eyes.

Porky's killing was followed not long after by a similar killing of a pet pig named Kipu on the island of Kauai. Like Porky, Kipu had been raised from a piglet and was as loved by his owners as any family pet. A pair of trespassers climbed a fence onto Kipu's property to kill him.

In April, a third pet pig named Gonzo was killed on his own property in Oahu, keeping alive the call for stronger pet protection laws in Hawaii. After Gonzo's killing, Senator Clayton Hee stated, "It causes a question to re-arise at the legislature, which is, 'What is a pet?'"

©Linda Lingle
The HSUS's Inga Gibson and Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle at the bill signing ceremony.

The answer, in the minds of most, is that pets are beloved family members who deserve protection from violence. Pets provide unparalleled companionship, comfort and love for their families, and as such, they deserve to be treated as something more than mere property. And no animal—dog, cat, pig, or otherwise—deserves to suffer and die at the hands of callous individuals.

This year is the Chinese Year of the Pig. It seems a particularly fitting time to see Hawaii pay tribute to its pets, including pet pigs, by finally passing a felony animal cruelty law to provide them with the protection they deserve.

Ariana Huemer is cruelty caseworker for The Humane Society of the United States.

Related Links

Animal Cruelty Laws: Where Does Your State Stand?

First Strike: The Connection Between Animal Cruelty and Human Violence

Frequently Asked Questions about Animal Cruelty

About Pigs