Earlier this week, authorities responded to a call claiming a woman in New Bern was throwing kittens out of her car window. When they arrived, two out of three kittens were dead, and the third one later died. Eyewitnesses said the woman ran over the first two kittens.

The investigation is ongoing, and as of Friday, no charges had been filed against the driver.

Unfortunately, this is only one of many cases of cruelty to animals that happen every day. Authorities are not giving many details on the New Bern case, but it nonetheless brings about a larger conversation: what is the appropriate punishment for people who harm animals?

North Carolina law states: “If any person shall intentionally overdrive, overload, wound, injure, torment, kill, or deprive of necessary sustenance, or cause or procure to be overdriven, overloaded, wounded, injured, tormented, killed, or deprived of necessary sustenance, any animal, every such offender shall for every such offense be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

“If any person shall maliciously kill, or cause or procure to be killed, any animal by

intentional deprivation of necessary sustenance, that person shall be guilty of a Class H felony.”

A Class 1 misdemeanor carries a sentence of 120 days maximum in jail and a discretionary fine. A Class H, low-level felony carries a sentence of probation.

This is unacceptable. It essentially means that someone who tortures or kills an animal only faces a few months in jail — at the most. Many times, it’s much less.

North Carolina needs to take a closer look at its animal cruelty laws. Animals are not humans and should not carry the same weight in the law, but they also deserve respect and protection.

An apt punishment would ensure that an offender would likely never repeat his actions. As it stands now, this simply isn’t the case. The punishment isn’t serious enough.

Our furry and feathered friends deserve better.