STATE OF NEW YORK
8338-A
1999-2000 Regular Sessions
In Assembly
May 12, 1999
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES – (at request of M. of A. Grannis, Silver, Schimminger, Gromack, Brennan, McEneny, Tokaz, M. Cohen, Colton, Connelly, Dinowitz, Englebright, Galef, Gottfried, Harenberg, Hill, Hochberg, Hoyt, John, Klein, Koon, Lafayette, Lopez, Luster, Mayersohn, Millman, Pheffer, Robach, Sanders, Stringer, E.C. Sullivan, Sweeney, Tocci, Weisenberg, Weprin, Wright) – read once and referred to the Committee on Agriculture – committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee.
AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to aggravated cruelty to animals.
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The agriculture and markets law is amended by adding a new section 353-a to read as follows:
§353-a. Aggravated cruelty to animals.
1. A person is guilty of aggravated cruelty to animals when, with no justifiable purpose, he or she intentionally causes serious physical injury to a companion animal with aggravated cruelty. For purposes of this section, "aggravated cruelty" shall mean conduct which: (i) is intended to cause extreme physical pain; or (ii) is done or carried out in an especially depraved or sadistic manner.
2. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit or interfere in any way with anyone lawfully engaged in hunting, trapping, or fishing, as provided in article eleven of the environmental conservation law, the dispatch of rabid or diseased animals, as provided in article twenty-one of the public health law, or the dispatch of animals posing a threat to human safety or other animals, where such action is otherwise legally authorized, or any properly conducted scientific tests, experiments, or investigations involving the use of living animals, performed or conducted in laboratories or institutions approved for such purposes by the commissioner of health pursuant to section three hundred fifty-three of this article.
3. Aggravated cruelty to animals is a felony. A defendant convicted of this offense shall be sentenced pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section 55.10 of the penal law provided, however, that any term of imprisonment imposed for violations of this section shall be a definite sentence, which may not exceed two years.
§2. Subdivision 5 of section 350 of the agriculture and markets law, as added by chapter 256 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows:
5. "Companion animal" or "pet" means [a] any dog[,] or cat, [or] and shall also mean any other domestic animal normally maintained in or near the household of the owner or person who cares for such [dog, cat or] other domesticated animal. "Pet" or "companion animal" shall not include a "farm animal" as defined in this section.
§ 3. This act shall take effect November 1, 1999.
NEW YORK ANIMAL CRUELTY STATUTES : New York CONSOLIDATED LAWS OF NEW YORK AGRICULTURE AND MARKETS LAW CHAPTER 69 OF THE CONSOLIDATED LAWS ARTICLE 26--ANIMALS s 353.
Overdriving, torturing and injuring
animals;failure to provide proper sustenance A person who overdrives, overloads,
tortures or cruelly beats or unjustifiably injures, maims, mutilates or
kills any animal, whether wild or tame, and whether belonging to himself
or to another, or unjustifiably injures, maims, mutilates or kills any
animal, whether wild or tame, and whether belonging to himself or to
another, or deprives any animal of necessary sustenance, food or drink, or neglects
or refuses to furnish it such sustenance or drink, or causes, procures
or permits any animal to be overdriven, overloaded, tortured, cruelly
beaten, or unjustifiably injured, maimed, mutilated or killed, or to be deprived
of necessary food or drink, or who wilfully sets on foot, instigates,
engages in, or in any way furthers any act of cruelty to any animal, or any act
tending to produce such cruelty, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable
by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than
one thousand dollars, or by both. Nothing herein contained shall be
construed to prohibit or interfere with any properly conducted scientific tests,
experiments or investigations, involving the use of living animals, performed
or conducted in laboratories or institutions, which are approved for these
purposes by the state commissioner of health. The state commissioner of
health shall prescribe the rules under which such approvals shall be
granted,
including therein standards regarding the care and treatment of health
shall prescribe the rules under which such approvals shall be granted,
including therein standards regarding the care and treatment of any such
animals. Such rules shall be published and copies thereof conspicuously
posted in each such laboratory or institution. The state commissioner of
health or his duly authorized representative shall have the power to
inspect such laboratories or institutions to insure compliance with such rules
and standards. Each such approval may be revoked at any time for failure
to comply with such rules and in any case the approval shall be limited
to a period not exceeding one year.
___________________________________________$
Anti-Cruelty Statutes Michigan MICHIGAN COMPILED LAWS CHAPTER 750.
MICHIGAN PENAL CODE : THE MICHIGAN PENAL CODE CHAPTER IX. ANIMALS THE MICHIGAN PENAL
CODE CHAPTER IX. ANIMALS 750.50. Definitions; crimes against animals,
cruel
treatment, abandonment, failure to provide adequate care; penalties,
misdemeanors
payment of costs; exceptions Sec. 50. (1) As used in this section and
section
50b: [FN1] (a) "Adequate care" means the provision of sufficient food,
water, shelter, sanitary conditions, and veterinary medical attention in
order to maintain an animal in a state of good health. (b) "Animal" means
any vertebrate other than a human being. (c) "Livestock" has the meaning
attributed to the term in the animal industry act of 1987, Act No. 466
of the Public Acts of 1988, being sections 287.701 to 287.747 of the
Michigan
Compiled Laws. sections 287.701 to 287.747 of the Michigan Compiled
Laws.
(d) "Person" means an individual, partnership, limited liability company,
corporation, association, governmental entity, or other legal entity. (e)
"Neglect" means to fail to sufficiently and properly care for an animal
to the extent that the animal's health is jeopardized. (f) "Sanitary
conditions"
means space free from health hazards including excessive animal waste,
overcrowding of animals, or other conditions that endanger the animal's
health. This definition does not include a condition resulting from a
customary
and reasonable practice pursuant to farming or animal husbandry. (g)
"Shelter"
means adequate protection from the elements suitable for the age and
species
of animal and weather conditions to maintain the animal in a state of
good
health, including structures or natural features such as trees and
topography.
animal in a state of good health, including structures or natural features
such as trees and topography. (h) "State of good health" means freedom
from disease and illness, and in a condition of proper body weight and
temperature for the age and species of the animal, unless the animal is
undergoing appropriate treatment. (i) "Water" means potable water that
is suitable for the age and species of animal, made regularly available
unless otherwise directed by a veterinarian licensed to practice
veterinary medicine.
(2) An owner, possessor, or person having the charge or custody
of an animal shall not do any of the following: (a) Fail to provide an
animal with adequate care. (b) Cruelly drive, work, or beat an animal,
or cause an animal to be cruelly driven, worked, or beaten. ?(b) Cruelly
drive, work, or beat an animal, or cause an animal to be cruelly driven,
worked, or beaten. (c) Carry or cause to be carried in or upon a vehicle
or otherwise any live animal having the feet or legs tied together, other
than an animal being transported for medical care, or a horse whose feet
are hobbled to protect the horse during transport or in any other cruel
and inhumane manner. (d) Carry or cause to be carried a live animal in
or upon a vehicle or otherwise without providing a secure space, rack,
car, crate, or cage, in which livestock may stand, and in which all other
animals may stand, turn around, and lie down during transportation, or
while awaiting slaughter. As used in this subdivision, for purposes of
transportation of sled dogs, "stand" means sufficient vertical distance
to allow the animal to stand without its shoulders touching the top of
the crate or transportation vehicle. (e) Abandon an animal or cause an
animal to be abandoned, in any (e) Abandon an animal or cause an animal
to be abandoned, in any place, without making provisions for the animal's
adequate care, unless premises are temporarily vacated for the protection
of human life during a disaster. An animal that is lost by an owner or
custodian while traveling, walking, hiking or hunting shall not be
regarded
as abandoned under this section when the owner or custodian has made a
reasonable effort to locate the animal. (f) Willfully or negligently allow
any animal, including one who is aged, diseased, maimed, hopelessly sick,
disabled, or nonambulatory to suffer unnecessary neglect, torture, or pain
. (3) A person who violates subsection (2) is guilty of a misdemeanor,
punishable by imprisonment for not more than 93 days, or by a fine of not
more than $1,000.00, or community service not to exceed 200 hours, or any
combination of these penalties. (4) As a part of the sentence for a
violation
of subsection (2), the (4) As a part of the sentence for a violation of
subsection (2), the court may order the defendant to pay the costs of the
prosecution and the costs of the care, housing, and veterinary medical
care for the animal, as applicable. If the court does not order a
defendant
to pay all of the applicable costs listed in this subsection, or orders
only partial payment of these costs, the court shall state on the record
the reason for that action. (5) As a part of the sentence for a violation
of subsection (2), the court may, as a condition of probation, order the
defendant not to own or possess an animal for a period of time not to
exceed
the period of probation. (6) A person who owns or possesses an animal in
violation of an order issued under subsection (5) is subject to revocation
of probation. (7) This section does not prohibit the lawful use of an
animal,
including, but not limited to, the following: (7) This section does not
prohibit the lawful use of an animal, including, but not limited to, the
following: (a) Fishing. (b) Hunting, trapping, or wildlife control. (c)
Horse racing. (d) The operation of a zoological park or aquarium. (e) Pest
or rodent control. (f) Scientific research. (g) Farming or animal
husbandry.
Footnotes FN1 Section 750.50b.
EDUCATIONAL LAW :
From New YorkState Consolidated Laws Section 809 Education Law Section
809. Instruction
in the humane treatment of Animals And Birds. The officer, board or
commission
authorized or required to prescribe courses of instruction shall cause
instruction to be given in every elementary school under state control
or supported wholly orpartly by public money of the state, in the humane
treatment and protection of animals and birds and the importance of the
part they play in the ? public money of the state, in the humane treatment
and protection of animals and birds and the importance of the part they
play in the economy of nature as well as the necessity of controlling the
proliferation of animals which are subsequently abandoned and caused to
suffer extreme cruelty. Such instruction shall be for such period of time
during each school year as the board of regents may prescribe and may be
jointed with work in literature, reading, language, nature study or
ethnology.
Such weekely instruction may be divided into two or more periods. A school
district shall not be entitled to participate in the public school money
on account of any school or the attendance at any school subject to the
provisions of this section, if the instruction required hereby is not
given
therein. 1976 Amenement. L 1976, c.138. Section 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1976.
In the sentence beginning "The Officer" added as well as the necessity
of controlling the proliferation of animals which are subsequently
abandoned
and caused to suffer extreme cruelty." A separate (undated) hand written
note mentions an additional amendment A separate (undated) hand written
note mentions an additional amendment that included junior high and high
school (in addition to elementary school). _____________________________
Sample Letter to
Go With ED LAW Letter: I am writing to request that a
lesson
teaching children about the humane treatment of animals be added to the
public elementary school curriculum. The statistical link between cruelty
to animals and subsequent violence to humans means that this topic is no
longer an "animal rights" issue, it is now a social issue. Children
already
learn all manner of things in school that are "social." They learn that
the policeman is their friend, that Children already learn all manner of
things in school that are "social." They learn that the policeman is their
friend, that drugs are bad; that they must respect their elders. They
learn
that making fun of somebody because they are handicapped is hurtful; and
they learn to have compassion for classmates who are seriously ill. They
learn all the small social courtesies ("don't throw food in the lunch
room")
and they learn the big taboos ("it's not socially acceptable to settle
an argument with your friend by hitting him/her"). Teaching compassion
for animals is merely an expansion of this. Animals serve on the police
force, they help stop drugs?from entering this country, they are
companions
to the elderly. They aid the blind and the deaf and the wheelchair-bound;
they are used in medical research to find cures for serious illnesses,
they are a food source, and those animals lucky enough to be considered
domestic live in our homes as friends. This country was built on the backs
of animals, and animal continue to contribute to our society in a variety
of important ways. But unlike the rest of our Letter: I am writing to
request
that a lesson teaching children about the humane treatment of animals be
added to the public elementary school curriculum. The statistical link
between cruelty to animals and subsequent violence to humans means that
this topic is no longer an "animal rights" issue, it is now a social
issue.
Children already learn all manner of things in school that are "social."
They learn that the policeman is their friend, that Children already learn
all manner of things in school that are "social." They learn that the
policeman
is their friend, that drugs are bad; that they must respect their elders.
They learn that making fun of somebody because they are handicapped is
hurtful; and they learn to have compassion for classmates who are
seriously
ill. They learn all the small social courtesies ("don't throw food in the
lunch room") and they learn the big taboos ("it's not socially acceptable
to settle an argument with your friend by hitting him/her"). Teaching
compassion
for animals is merely an expansion of this. Animals serve on the police
force, they help stop drugs?from entering this country, they are
companions
to the elderly. They aid the blind and the deaf and the wheelchair-bound;
they are used in medical research to find cures for serious illnesses,
they are a food source, and those animals lucky enough to be considered
domestic live in our homes as friends. This country was built on the backs
of animals, and animal continue to contribute to our society in a variety
of important ways. But unlike the rest of our the backs of animals, and
animal continue to contribute to our society in a variety of important
ways. But unlike the rest of our society, (the policeman, the handicapped,
the ill, the elderly), they can't speak. They can't send a representative
into a classroom to explain why they're your friend; they can't ask their
moms to go to the school and explain why you should have compassion for
them. A class lesson about the?humane treatment of?animals would cost the
school nothing, and it could only improve a child's understanding of the
world around him or her. I urge you to consider making it a standard part
of the curriculum. Signed _________________________
This letter is courtesy of Jana Faucher of ActionCat. She is at actioncat. http://www.actioncat.com