Alleged Animal Cruelty: What Should Be the Punishment if Convicted?

The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) is reportedly investigating a possible case of animal abuse caught on video allegedly at Blanchard's Liquors on Harvard Avenue in Allston, according to a news report by WCVB TV in Boston.

According to the report, the video clip, which was posted on YouTube, claims to show a man jumping up and down on a metal dog cage containing a small dog until the top of the cage crashes down on the animal. A NewsCenter 5 correspondent reported that the man stomped on the cage following an argument in the store’s parking lot.

Be advised that the video is disturbing to many people as evidenced by the strong reactions to it wherever it is posted on the Internet. (Note: this video has been removed from YouTube and is no longer available.)

Mass. General Laws c. 272, section 77 states that whoever tortures, cruelly beats, torments, or inflicts unnecessary cruelty upon an animal in his charge or custody shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years or imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than 2-and-a-half years or by a fine of not more than $2,500, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

If the person in this video were charged, tried, and convicted of animal cruelty, what should the penalty be?

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