32 Pit Bulldogs and Other Property v. County of Prentiss case
brief summary
808 So.2d 971
808 So.2d 971
CASE SYNOPSIS
The Prentiss County Circuit Court, Mississippi, charged defendant with the crime of dog fights and related violations of Miss. Code Ann. § 97-41-19 (1972) and ordered that 18 of the 32 pit bulldogs seized be euthanized. Defendant appealed.
FACTS
The Prentiss County Circuit Court, Mississippi, charged defendant with the crime of dog fights and related violations of Miss. Code Ann. § 97-41-19 (1972) and ordered that 18 of the 32 pit bulldogs seized be euthanized. Defendant appealed.
FACTS
Defendant argued that the circuit
court erred in determining that the vicious and aggressive nature of
the pit bulldogs was a physical condition which permitted
euthanization, pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 97-41-19(3). Defendant
argued that the statute was plain and unambiguous. The appellate
court found that the statute was neither plain nor unambiguous. The
purpose and objective of the statute was to prosecute individuals who
engaged in the business of dog fighting. The statute made provisions
not only for what constituted the crime, but for the seizure and
disposition of those things utilized in the perpetration of the
crime, including the dogs themselves.
DISCUSSION
The circuit court's broader interpretation of the statute, that a dog seized pursuant to the statute may be humanely euthanized by reason of the physical condition of the dog, was correct as that interpretation was in keeping with the obvious legislative intent in enacting the criminal dogfight statute.
CONCLUSION
The judgment was affirmed.
DISCUSSION
The circuit court's broader interpretation of the statute, that a dog seized pursuant to the statute may be humanely euthanized by reason of the physical condition of the dog, was correct as that interpretation was in keeping with the obvious legislative intent in enacting the criminal dogfight statute.
CONCLUSION
The judgment was affirmed.
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