Enacts "Kirby and Quigley's Law"; expands the definition of aggravated cruelty to animals to include harm to a companion animal during the commission of a felony.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
470
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sens. TEDISCO, ADDABBO, HELMING, O'MARA, SANDERS, SEPULVE-
DA, WEIK -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be
committed to the Committee on Agriculture
AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to expand-
ing the definition of aggravated cruelty to animals to include harm to
animals during the commission of a felony
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Kirby and
2 Quigley's Law".
3 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 353-a of the agriculture and markets
4 law, as added by chapter 118 of the laws of 1999, is amended to read as
5 follows:
6 1. A person is guilty of aggravated cruelty to animals when[,]: either
7 (a) with no justifiable purpose, [he or she] such person intentionally
8 kills or intentionally causes serious physical injury, as defined in
9 subdivision twenty-nine of section one hundred eight of this chapter, to
10 a companion animal with aggravated cruelty[.]; or
11 (b) in the course of commission of a felony, or of immediate flight
12 therefrom, such person causes intentional physical injury, as defined in
13 subdivision twenty-eight of section one hundred eight of this chapter,
14 or death to a companion animal.
15 For purposes of this section, "aggravated cruelty" shall mean conduct
16 which: (i) is intended to cause extreme physical pain; or (ii) is done
17 or carried out in an especially depraved or sadistic manner.
18 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01826-01-5
