Cruelty & Neglect

Cruelty & Neglect

What defines animal cruelty? Felony and Misdemeanor animal cruelty

Felony Aggravated cruelty to animals -

NYS AML § 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 kills or 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 violation of this section shall be a definite sentence, which may not exceed two years.

Misdemeanor Cruelty To Animals -

NYS AML § 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 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 class A misdemeanor and for purposes of paragraph (b) of
subdivision one of section 160.10 of the criminal procedure law, shall
be treated as a misdemeanor defined in the penal law.

Felony Animal Fighting - typically fighting dogs or cock fights -

§ 351. Prohibition of animal fighting. 1. For purposes of this
section, the term "animal fighting" shall mean any fight between cocks
or other birds, or between dogs, bulls, bears or any other animals, or
between any such animal and a person or persons, except in exhibitions
of a kind commonly featured at rodeos.

2. Any person who engages in any of the following conduct is guilty of
a felony punishable by imprisonment for a period not to exceed four
years, or by a fine not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars, or by
both such fine and imprisonment:

(a) For amusement or gain, causes any animal to engage in animal
fighting; or

(b) Trains any animal under circumstances evincing an intent that such
animal engage in animal fighting for amusement or gain; or

(c) Breeds, sells or offers for sale any animal under circumstances
evincing an intent that such animal engage in animal fighting; or

(d) Permits any act described in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of this
subdivision to occur on premises under his control; or

(e) Owns, possesses or keeps any animal trained to engage in animal
fighting on premises where an exhibition of animal fighting is being
conducted under circumstances evincing an intent that such animal engage
in animal fighting.

3. (a) Any person who engages in conduct specified in paragraph (b) of
this subdivision is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable by
imprisonment for a period not to exceed one year, or by a fine not to
exceed fifteen thousand dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(b) The owning, possessing or keeping of any animal under
circumstances evincing an intent that such animal engage in animal
fighting.

4. (a) Any person who engages in conduct specified in paragraph (b)
hereof is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable by imprisonment for
a period not to exceed one year, or by a fine not to exceed one thousand
dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(b) The knowing presence as a spectator having paid an admission fee
or having made a wager at any place where an exhibition of animal
fighting is being conducted.

5. (a) Any person who engages in the conduct specified in paragraph
(b) of this subdivision is guilty of a class B misdemeanor punishable by
imprisonment for a period not to exceed three months, or by a fine not
to exceed five hundred dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Any person who engages in the conduct specified in paragraph (b) of this
subdivision after having been convicted within the previous five years
of a violation of this subdivision or subdivision four of this section
is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable by imprisonment for a
period not to exceed one year, or by a fine not to exceed one thousand
dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(b) The knowing presence as a spectator at any place where an
exhibition of animal fighting is being conducted.

6. (a) Any person who intentionally owns, possesses, sells, transfers
or manufactures animal fighting paraphernalia with the intent to engage
in or otherwise promote or facilitate animal fighting as defined in
subdivision one of this section is guilty of a class B misdemeanor
punishable by imprisonment for a period of up to ninety days, or by a
fine not to exceed five hundred dollars, or by both such fine and
imprisonment. Any person who engages in the conduct specified in this
subdivision after having been convicted within the previous five years
of a violation of this subdivision is guilty of a misdemeanor and is
punishable by imprisonment for a period not to exceed one year, or by a
fine not to exceed one thousand dollars, or by both such fine and
imprisonment.

(b) For purposes of this section, animal fighting paraphernalia shall
mean equipment, products, or materials of any kind that are used,
intended for use, or designed for use in the training, preparation,
conditioning or furtherance of animal fighting. Animal fighting
paraphernalia includes the following:

(i) A breaking stick, which means a device designed for insertion
behind the molars of a dog for the purpose of breaking the dog's grip on
another animal or object;

(ii) A cat mill, which means a device that rotates around a central
support with one arm designed to secure a dog and one arm designed to
secure a cat, rabbit, or other small animal beyond the grasp of the dog;

(iii) A treadmill, which means an exercise device consisting of an
endless belt on which the animal walks or runs without changing places;

(iv) A springpole, which means a biting surface attached to a
stretchable device, suspended at a height sufficient to prevent a dog
from reaching the biting surface while touching the ground;

(v) A fighting pit, which means a walled area, or otherwise defined
area, designed to contain an animal fight;

(vi) Any other instrument commonly used in the furtherance of pitting
an animal against another animal.

Conducting a cockfight, in which roosters are pitted against each other while spectators gamble on the outcome, as well as dog fighting, would be covered in the state law, punishable by time in prison as a felony listed above..

A number of other offenses under the law are Class A misdemeanors.

Among the misdemeanor offenses is failure to provide food, care or shelter necessary to maintain an animal in a state of good health, even through neglect. Often cases of animal hoarding occurs where an individual hoards large amounts of animals eventually failing to properly care for so many, leading to a buildup of urine, feces, poor air quality and stench, often leading to the death of several animals hoarded on the individual's premises.

Equine neglect is often encountered as well, where a horse is not properly fed, given the proper veterinary care, or it's teeth are not properly grinded down (floated) on a regular basis, or it's hooves are not shaved down (shod), leading to excruciating pain to a horse.

A severe example of that would be when an individual owns a large number of dogs, horses or cattle, and stops providing for them. Someone complains that the animals are malnourished and near starvation, and the animals are rescued and the owner prosecuted.

Transporting or confining an animal in a cruel manner also is a misdemeanor. An example would be leaving a pet in a locked car with windows up in summertime.

To abandon is defined as a person leaving an animal he owns without making reasonable arrangements for assumption of custody by someone else.

“Necessary food, care or shelter” includes food, care or shelter provided to the extent required to maintain the animal in a state of good health, as well as sustenance, which also covers proper veterinary care.

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