Bill Text: NY A00768 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Includes wildlife animals as those subject to the animal cruelty provisions of the agriculture and markets law.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 14-2)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to codes [A00768 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A00768-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         768--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 11, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of A. L. ROSENTHAL, BENEDETTO, PAULIN, WEPRIN, OTIS,
          FAHY, SANTABARBARA, ZINERMAN, KELLES, DiPIETRO --  Multi-Sponsored  by
          --  M.  of  A.  COLTON, DINOWITZ, GLICK, HEVESI, LUPARDO, McDONOUGH --
          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 aggra-
          vated cruelty to animals

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Subdivisions  1 and 2 of section 353-a of the agriculture
     2  and markets law, as added by chapter  118  of  the  laws  of  1999,  are
     3  amended to read as follows:
     4    1.  A  person is guilty of aggravated cruelty to animals when, with no
     5  justifiable purpose, he or  she  intentionally  kills  or  intentionally
     6  causes  serious  physical  injury  to a companion animal or wildlife, as
     7  defined in subdivision six  of  section  11-0103  of  the  environmental
     8  conservation  law,  other  than  insects, with aggravated cruelty.   For
     9  purposes of this section, "aggravated cruelty" shall mean conduct which:
    10  (i) is intended to cause extreme physical  pain;  or  (ii)  is  done  or
    11  carried out in an especially depraved or sadistic manner.
    12    2. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit or
    13  interfere  in any way with anyone lawfully engaged in hunting, trapping,
    14  [or] fishing, or taking as provided in article eleven  of  the  environ-
    15  mental  conservation  law,  activities  deemed  to be sound agricultural
    16  practices pursuant to section three hundred eight of  this  chapter,  or
    17  reasonable  activities  for  the  purpose  of  managing pests that is in
    18  accordance with federal, state, and  local  laws  and  regulations,  the
    19  dispatch of rabid or diseased animals, as provided in article twenty-one
    20  of  the public health law, or the dispatch of animals posing a threat to
    21  human safety or other animals, where such action  is  otherwise  legally

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00711-02-3
        A. 768--A                           2

     1  authorized,  or any properly conducted scientific tests, experiments, or
     2  investigations  involving  the  use  of  living  animals,  performed  or
     3  conducted  in laboratories or institutions approved for such purposes by
     4  the commissioner of health pursuant to section three hundred fifty-three
     5  of this article.
     6    §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
     7  have become a law.