If all the 2012 Legislature wants to do is pass a bill — any kind of bill — that makes animal cruelty a felony, the Idaho Cattle Association and the Idaho Wool Growers Association have the bill for the job.

That is all their bill does, though. It would get an animal cruelty felony on the books. But it would rarely be used, if ever. And it wouldn’t establish any additional penalties.

Yes, Idaho would lose the stigma of having no animal cruelty felony law, leaving North and South Dakota to shoulder that burden. If this is the best Idaho can do, however, it’s hardly even worth the effort:

Æ The felony law would apply only to a third animal cruelty conviction within 15 years. That language isn’t new — a proposed animal cruelty voter initiative uses the same standard. But the industry bill doesn’t apply to animal neglect, even repeat offenses of neglect. It applies only to habitual acts of malicious cruelty, a much higher legal hurdle.

Æ Even if a repeat offender is convicted of cruelty for a third time, the penalty is mild: a fine of at least $500 but no more than $9,000, and a jail term of up to one year. This is identical to the existing penalties under the state’s misdemeanor animal cruelty law.

The industry’s tepid bill is working its way through the Senate as a citizens group pursues an initiative that would have some teeth.

This initiative would establish an animal torture charge — punishable as a felony on the first offense. The initiative also would ratchet up the fines for animal cruelty; a third conviction also would carry a prison sentence of six months to three years. Since this language would apply only to repeat offenders, it’s hard to see how this initiative would swell the ranks of the state’s prison population.

But it would establish some actual legal consequences, and would demonstrate that Idaho is serious about animal welfare — not just looking to pass do-nothing legislation that allows the state to say it has a felony statute.

At its heart, the industry bill is nothing more than a pre-emptive strike. If it becomes law, and it passed a Senate committee last week with just one dissenting vote, this bill would effectively sap the animal cruelty initiative of its momentum. Organizers of the initiative have a tough enough job as it is; they must collect signatures from 47,432 registered voters by April 30, and supporters say they have about half of the signatures they need.

Is this what the livestock industry is so concerned about? Obviously, industry leaders aren’t that concerned about animal welfare — or they would have proposed legislation that would actually do something about it.

“Our View” is the editorial position of the Idaho Statesman. It is an unsigned opinion expressing the consensus of the Statesman’s editorial board.