Relates to outdoor restraints of dogs; prohibits inhumane tethering, including during dangerous weather conditions when a weather alert, advisory or warning is in effect; provides for civil penalties for violations.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
165--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL, JACKSON, STERN, GLICK, DAVILA, KELLES,
SIMONE, BORES, STIRPE, GALLAGHER, McDONALD, TAPIA, KAY, McDONOUGH,
McMAHON, SIMON, MITAYNES, DINOWITZ, COLTON, ROMERO -- read once and
referred to the Committee on Agriculture -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to outdoor
restraint of dogs
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The agriculture and markets law is amended by adding a new
2 section 353-g to read as follows:
3 § 353-g. Outdoor restraint of dogs. Definitions. 1. For the purposes
4 of this section:
5 (a) "Tether" shall mean to restrain a dog by attaching the dog to any
6 object or structure, including without limitation a house, tree, fence,
7 post, garage, or shed, by any means, including without limitation a
8 chain, rope, cord, leash, or running line. Tethering does not include
9 the use of a leash to walk a dog or circumstances where a dog is other-
10 wise accompanied by a person who owns or has custody or control of the
11 dog.
12 (b) "Dangerous weather conditions" shall mean inclement weather as
13 defined in section three hundred fifty-three-b of this article, condi-
14 tions described in a weather alert, advisory or other warning issued by
15 a local, state or federal authority, or when outside weather conditions,
16 including but not limited to extreme heat, cold, wind, rain, snow, or
17 hail, pose an adverse risk to the health or safety of a dog based on
18 breed, age, and physical condition, in accordance with the industry
19 standard set forth in the Tufts Animal Care and Condition Weather Safety
20 Scale. Extreme heat and cold limitations shall mean an ambient temper-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00938-04-6
A. 165--A 2
1 ature of eighty degrees Fahrenheit and thirty-five degrees Fahrenheit,
2 respectively.
3 (c) "Shelter" shall mean conditions that comply with the minimum stan-
4 dards established for the appropriate shelter for dogs left outdoors
5 pursuant to section three hundred fifty-three-b of this article.
6 (d) "Inhumane tethering" shall include the following:
7 (i) Continuous exposure to animal waste, garbage, or noxious odors,
8 provided that a dog may be exposed to their own waste so long as any
9 such waste produced prior to tethering was cleared prior to the dog
10 being tethered;
11 (ii) Recurrent or continual taunting, prodding, or provoking;
12 (iii) Exposure to physical harm or the threat of physical harm;
13 (iv) Exposure to dangerous conditions, including potential attacks by
14 other animals and exposure to objects that could injure or kill a dog;
15 (v) Exposure to dangerous weather conditions;
16 (vi) Any tethering not in compliance with paragraph (a) of subdivision
17 two of this section that results in a dog becoming entangled;
18 (vii) Being tethered to a vacant property; or
19 (viii) Any tethering that could reasonably lead to the distress, inju-
20 ry, or death of the dog.
21 2. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, it shall be unlawful
22 to tether an unaccompanied dog outdoors, except when all of the follow-
23 ing conditions are met:
24 (a) The tether shall: (i) be in compliance with the rules and regu-
25 lations set forth by the department; (ii) not be embedded, partially
26 embedded, or prone to becoming embedded in a dog's skin; (iii) restrain
27 the dog to the owner's property in such a way as to prevent the dog from
28 reaching hazards, including but not limited to pools, fences, porches,
29 or railing that poses a strangulation risk; and (iv) allow the dog
30 sufficient movement to urinate in a separate area from the area where it
31 must eat, drink, or lie down.
32 (b) The tethered dog must:
33 (i) be at least six months old;
34 (ii) not be a nursing female dog or a female dog visibly in the
35 advanced stages of pregnancy;
36 (iii) not be suffering from illness, debilitating disease, injury, or
37 distress; and
38 (iv) be apparently free of any health condition that would be exacer-
39 bated by tethering.
40 (c) If there are multiple dogs, each must be tethered separately.
41 (d) No dog shall be tethered outdoors between the hours of ten p.m.
42 and six a.m.
43 (e) A dog shall not be tethered outside for longer than four consec-
44 utive hours or a total time outside in excess of six hours in a twenty-
45 four hour period.
46 (f) Tethered dogs must have unencumbered access to shade, food, water,
47 shelter, and dry ground.
48 (g) Tethered dogs must be free from conditions that would constitute
49 inhumane tethering.
50 3. Tethering a supervised dog for less than fifteen minutes shall not
51 be a violation of this section so long as the tethered dog is free from
52 conditions that would constitute inhumane tethering.
53 4. This section shall not apply to the tethering of a dog that is:
54 (a) actively engaged in conduct that is directly related to the busi-
55 ness of shepherding, herding cattle or other livestock, or engaged in
56 conduct that is directly related to the business of cultivating agricul-
A. 165--A 3
1 tural products as defined in section three hundred twenty-eight of this
2 chapter;
3 (b) a police work dog as defined in section one hundred eight of this
4 chapter;
5 (c) a guide dog or service dog, as defined in section one hundred
6 eight of this chapter, providing such services to the owner of record;
7 (d) temporarily tethered for evaluation after seizure as a stray or as
8 part of an animal cruelty investigation or rescue operation;
9 (e) actively being transported in a motor vehicle; or
10 (f) in the custody of an animal shelter, as defined in section four
11 hundred twenty of this chapter, where the dog is:
12 (i) receiving medical care or treatment; or
13 (ii) temporarily tethered after being unloaded from a motor vehicle or
14 transport.
15 5. A violation of any of the provisions of this section shall be
16 punishable by a civil penalty not to exceed three hundred dollars for
17 the first violation. Any subsequent violation shall be punishable by a
18 civil penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars.
19 6. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or prevent a
20 municipality from enacting or enforcing a local law, rule, regulation or
21 ordinance regarding tethering or chaining of dogs, provided, however,
22 that any such local law, rule, regulation or ordinance shall be no less
23 stringent than the provisions of this section.
24 7. Nothing in this section shall be construed to reduce any
25 protections afforded to dogs under any other provisions of this article
26 or other law or regulation.
27 8. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any federal,
28 state or local law enforcement agency.
29 9. The department shall promulgate rules and regulations describing
30 the humane use of a tether and the proper length and weight of such
31 tether to ensure the requirements of this section are met.
32 10. The department shall engage in a public education campaign to
33 ensure that dog owners are aware of the provisions of this section.
34 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
35 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
36 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
37 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
38 completed by the department of agriculture and markets on or before such
39 effective date.
