Chasing a cow with a drone? Utah bill would put you in jail
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah lawmaker wants to send people to jail for harassing farm animals with drones, all-terrain vehicles and even dogs under a proposal that is unique in the U.S. but has gained an unlikely opponent.
Republican Rep. Scott Chew, who is also a rancher, said Tuesday that he introduced the bill last month because farmers incur significant costs and hardships when livestock are injured.
The measure is the first of its kind in the country, said Lora Dunn, an attorney for the Animal Legal Defence Fund, a national animal rights organization.
The Humane Society of the United States said the plan was redundant and may discourage members of the public from getting close enough to livestock to expose farmers’ mistreatment of their animals. Utah already has a law against injuring or killing farm animals.