2016 -- H 7392

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LC004098

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2016

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO ANIMALS AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY -- CRUELTY TO ANIMALS

     Introduced By: Representatives Serpa, O'Brien, Shekarchi, Craven, and Nardolillo

     Date Introduced: January 28, 2016

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Sections 4-1-2 and 4-1-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 4-1 entitled

"Cruelty to Animals" are hereby amended to read as follows:

     4-1-2. Overwork, mistreatment, or failure to feed animals -- Shelter defined. -- (a)

Whoever overdrives, overloads, drives when overloaded, overworks, tortures, torments, deprives

of necessary sustenance, cruelly beats, mutilates or cruelly kills, or causes or procures to be so

overdriven, overloaded, driven when overloaded, overworked, tortured, tormented, deprived of

necessary sustenance, cruelly beaten, mutilated or cruelly killed, any animal, and whoever,

having the charge or custody of any animal, either as owner or otherwise, inflicts cruelty upon

that animal, or willfully fails to provide that animal with proper food, drink, shelter or protection

from the weather, shall, for each offense, be imprisoned not exceeding eleven (11) months, or be

fined not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor exceeding five hundred dollars ($500), or both. If the

offense described in this section results in the death of the animal, the person shall be punished in

the manner provided in §4-1-5.

      (b) Every owner, possessor, or person having charge of any animal may upon conviction

of a violation of this section be ordered to forfeit all rights to ownership of the animal to the

animal control officer of the city or town in which the offense occurred or to a humane society

which owns and operates the shelter which provided the subject animal shelter subsequent to any

confiscation of said animal pursuant to this section.

      (c) Shelters means a structure used to house any animal which will provide sufficient

protection from inclement elements for the health and well being of the animal.

     4-1-3. Unnecessary cruelty. -- (a) Every owner, possessor, or person having the charge

or custody of any animal, who cruelly drives or works that animal when unfit for labor, or cruelly

abandons that animal, or who carries that animal or who fails to provide that animal with

adequate living conditions as defined in § 4-1-1, or causes that animal to be carried, in or upon

any vehicle or otherwise in a cruel or inhuman manner, or willfully, intentionally, maliciously,

recklessly, and/or knowingly authorizes or permits that animal to be subjected to unnecessary

torture, suffering or cruelty of any kind, or who places or causes to have placed on any animal

any substance that may produce irritation or pain, or that is declared a hazardous substance by the

U.S. food and drug administration or by the state department of health, shall be punished for each

offense in the manner provided in § 4-1-2. If the offense described in this section results in the

death of the animal, the person shall be punished in the manner provided in §4-1-5.

      (b) The substances proscribed by subsection (a) do not include any drug having curative

and therapeutic effect for disease in animals and which is prepared and intended for veterinary

use.

      (c) University, college or hospital research facilities licensed and/or inspected by the

U.S. Department of Agriculture or the U.S. Public Health Service of the department of health and

human services shall be exempt from the provisions of subsection (a) provided that they are in

good standing with the federal agency responsible for licensing or assurance of the facility.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO ANIMALS AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY -- CRUELTY TO ANIMALS

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     This act would provide that when a person overworks, mistreats, or otherwise treats an

animal cruelly, and this conduct results in the death of the animal, then that person would be

subject to punishment in the manner provided in §4-1-5. For purposes of understanding this

amendment, the text of §4-1-5 is set forth below:

     4-1-5. Malicious injury to or killing of animals. -- (a) Every person who cuts out the

tongue or otherwise dismembers any animal, maliciously, or maliciously kills or wounds any

animal, or maliciously administers poison to or exposes any poisonous substance with intent that

the poison shall be taken or swallowed by any animal, or who maliciously exposes poisoned meat

with intent that the poison meat is taken or swallowed by any wild animal, shall be imprisoned

not exceeding two (2) years or be fined not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), and shall, in

the case of any animal of another, be liable to the owner of this animal for triple damages, to be

recovered by civil action. In addition, any person convicted under this section is required to serve

ten (10) hours of community restitution. The community restitution penalty shall not be

suspended or deferred and is mandatory.

      (b) This section shall not apply to licensed hunters during hunting season or a licensed

business killing animals for human consumption.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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