Establishes the crimes of cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or harass in the second degree and cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or harass in the first degree when in the presence of a minor child.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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850
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL, SEAWRIGHT -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the crimes of
cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or harass in the second
degree and first degree
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The penal law is amended by adding two new sections 120.80
2 and 120.85 to read as follows:
3 § 120.80 Cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or harass in the
4 second degree.
5 1. A person is guilty of cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or
6 harass in the second degree when such person intentionally injures or
7 kills, with no justifiable purpose, any companion animal with the intent
8 to threaten, intimidate, or harass a family or household member who such
9 person knows or should have known owned, possessed, leased, kept, or
10 held such companion animal.
11 2. For purposes of this section:
12 (a) "Family or household member" shall have the same meaning as subdi-
13 vision two of section four hundred fifty-nine-a of the social services
14 law.
15 (b) "Companion animal" shall have the same meaning as subdivision five
16 of section three hundred fifty of the agriculture and markets law.
17 Cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or harass in the second
18 degree is a class D felony.
19 § 120.85 Cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or harass in the
20 first degree.
21 1. A person is guilty of cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or
22 harass in the first degree when such person intentionally injures or
23 kills, with no justifiable purpose and in the presence of a minor child,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03116-01-5
A. 850 2
1 any companion animal with the intent to threaten, intimidate, or harass
2 a family or household member who such person knows or should have known
3 owned, possessed, leased, kept, or held such companion animal.
4 2. For purposes of this section:
5 (a) "Family or household member" shall have the same meaning as subdi-
6 vision two of section four hundred fifty-nine-a of the social services
7 law.
8 (b) "Companion animal" shall have the same meaning as subdivision five
9 of section three hundred fifty of the agriculture and markets law.
10 (c) "Minor child" means an individual under the age of eighteen.
11 (d) "Presence of a minor child" shall mean in the physical presence of
12 a child under the age of eighteen knowing or having reason to know that
13 a child is present and may see or hear such act.
14 Cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or harass in the first
15 degree is a class C felony.
16 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
17 have become a law.
