Mare’s killing puts animal cruelty under South Dakota Capitol spotlight
Six months after Cheyenne’s death near Pactola Reservoir, leaders want more severe punishment for 'depraved, heinous' acts of abuse, torture
PIERRE — Grisly details in the killing of a horse near Pactola Reservoir last fall are fueling a push to toughen South Dakota’s animal cruelty laws.
Six months after an October assault occurred on Lacey Wolff and her husband’s ranch near Pactola Reservoir, no arrest has been made in connection with the death of their mare, Cheyenne, and the investigation remains open. But if the perpetrator alleged to have raped and sodomized the animal is ever found, the prison sentence he or she would face — two years behind bars maximum — wouldn’t be enough, according to Wolff and others asking for a higher felony tier of punishment for especially horrific acts of animal torture.
