FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
- Erica Lee
- Dec 3
- 3 min read
Columbiana County, Ohio — 12.03.25 — Attorney David E. Wenger a horse owner, and a local equine veterinarian met today with State Representative Monica Robb Blasdel (R-79) to address critical shortcomings in Ohio’s criminal animal-cruelty statutes, specifically those involving horses.
The discussion centered on the criminal reforms contained in the proposed Equine Partner Protection Act of 2025, a bill designed to finally bring Ohio’s equine-cruelty penalties in line with the severity of the offenses occurring throughout the state.
“For too long, some of the worst acts of cruelty against horses in Ohio have been treated as little more than misdemeanors,” said Wenger. “Our laws must recognize the seriousness of these crimes. Horses deserve protection, and law enforcement deserves the tools to hold offenders accountable.”
Ohio’s Current Criminal Law Leaves Major Gaps
During the meeting, Wenger emphasized the following criminal deficiencies in current law:
1. Severe equine neglect is usually charged only as a misdemeanor.
Even when a horse is starved, dehydrated, or left in conditions causing intense suffering, the maximum charge under existing law is often M1, short of jail-time expectations and insufficient to deter repeat offenders.
2. Attempted aggravated cruelty cannot be charged as a felony.
Under current statutes, if an offender attempts to kill or permanently maim a horse but the horse survives, the case cannot be charged as a felony.This loophole routinely prevents prosecutors from acting until the harm is irreversible — or the horse is dead.
3. There is no felony-level protection until permanent injury or death has already occurred.
Law enforcement and humane agents repeatedly report that they cannot intervene until physical damage reaches catastrophic levels.The system rewards early suffering and penalizes only the aftermath.
4. Repeat offenders face minimal escalation in penalties.
Ohio currently allows individuals with multiple cruelty cases to receive nearly identical misdemeanor consequences.There is no meaningful mechanism to treat repeated acts of cruelty as the pattern of criminal conduct they are.
5. Criminal investigations are undermined when owners move, sell, or hide horses involved in cruelty cases.
Ohio law provides no criminal penalty for interfering with an equine-cruelty investigation by relocating or concealing the horse, causing cases to collapse before charges can be filed.
“These aren’t rare hypotheticals,” Wenger explained. “These issues show up in real cases across Ohio, and they leave both prosecutors and humane agents powerless. A legal system that waits for a horse to die before recognizing the crime is already too late.”
What the Criminal Provisions of the Equine Partner Protection Bill Would Achieve
The proposed Bill focuses on closing these loopholes and modernizing the criminal code:
• Establish felony penalties for severe equine cruelty.
Criminal neglect and abuse causing serious harm would finally carry felony consequences.
• Create a new F4 felony for attempted aggravated cruelty.
This closes the biggest gap in current law and allows prosecutors to intervene before death or permanent injury occurs.
• Strengthen penalties for repeat offenders.
Multiple acts of cruelty involving the same horse — or multiple horses — would escalate to a felony, reflecting the seriousness of repeated criminal conduct.
• Criminalize the concealment, transfer, or sale of horses during an active cruelty investigation.
This ensures horses cannot be hidden or moved to obstruct justice.
• Protect the integrity of criminal investigations and prosecutions.
By clarifying the criminal elements and elevating serious penalties, the bill ensures strong cases are not dismissed due to statutory ambiguity.
“These reforms are about one thing: ensuring Ohio’s criminal laws align with the realities of cruelty cases and the protection horses deserve,” Wenger said. “This is a public-safety issue, a rural-community issue, and a justice issue.”
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