Most states--about 35--recognize animal cruelty as a felony offense. However, the FBI does not have a category for publishing animal crimes against animals in its Uniform Crime Reporting Program, which studies crime trends. Not only does this omission hinder those who are trying to prevent cruelty to animals, it also hinders those who are trying to prevent violence toward humans. And--perhaps most important--it does nothing to legitimize the crime of animal cruelty.

Of course, animal cruelty laws are absurd, too. If someone starves or tortures a pet dog, s/he can be prosecuted. But thousands of farm animals are starved and tortured every day and they are protected by the law. The only thing the law requires of farmers is that they follow guidelines for "humane slaughter," one of my favorite oxymorons.