Rep. Carl Albrecht (R-UT-70) recently introduced a bill that would make it illegal to remove an animal from its owner due to the animal’s health.
The Theft Defense Amendments bill would amend Utah’s criminal code to say it is not a burglary defense to remove livestock from its owner if the animal was sick or injured.
“I can’t think of anywhere else where it’s OK to trespass and steal property,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) said in support of the bill during a PBS Utah Governor’s Press Conference program.
The bill was introduced shortly after members of an animal activist group were found innocent after stealing piglets from a Smithfield Farms facility.
