2023 -- H 5706

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LC001381

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO ANIMALS AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY -- CRUELTY TO ANIMALS

     

     Introduced By: Representative William W. O'Brien

     Date Introduced: February 17, 2023

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Section 4-1-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 4-1 entitled "Cruelty to

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Animals" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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     4-1-3. Unnecessary cruelty.

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     (a) Every owner, possessor, or person having the charge or custody of any animal, who

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cruelly drives or works that animal when unfit for labor, or cruelly abandons that animal, or who

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carries that animal or who fails to provide that animal with adequate living conditions as defined

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in § 4-1-1, or who engages in the hazardous accumulation of animals as defined in § 4-1-1, or

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causes that animal, to be carried, in or upon any vehicle or otherwise, in a cruel or inhuman manner;

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or willfully, intentionally, maliciously, recklessly, and/or knowingly authorizes or permits that

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animal to be subjected to unnecessary torture, suffering, or cruelty of any kind; or who places, or

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causes to have placed, on any animal any substance that may produce irritation or pain or that is

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declared a hazardous substance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or by the state

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department of health, shall be punished for each offense in the manner provided in § 4-1-2. If the

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

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the manner provided in § 4-1-5. If any owner, possessor, or person having the charge or custody of

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any animal is found guilty of or pleads nolo contendere to a violation of this section and said

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violation involves the hazardous accumulation of animals, the court shall, in imposing a penalty

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under this section, take into account whether the defendant’s conduct could be considered to be the

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result of a mental health disorder as defined in § 27-38.2-2.

 

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

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and therapeutic effect for disease in animals and that is prepared and intended for veterinary use.

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

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

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

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

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     (d) A person convicted of killing an animal or under circumstances rising to the level of

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unnecessary cruelty amounting to torture under subsection (a) of this section shall not harbor, own,

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possess, exercise control over, adopt, or foster an animal for their lifetime. Any person found in

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violation of this subsection may, in addition to any other punishment provided by law, be fined an

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amount not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each animal held in unlawful ownership or

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possession. Any animal involved in a violation described in this subsection shall be forfeited to the

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Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals pursuant to § 4-1-22.

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     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 prohibit a person convicted of killing an animal or of unnecessary cruelty

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to animals amounting to torture from owning or exercising control of an animal for life and would

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be subject to a fine of one thousand dollars ($1000) for each violation of this act. Any animal

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involved in the offense would be forfeited to the Rhode Island Society for Prevention of Cruelty to

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Animals.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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