STATE OF NEW YORK
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5414
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 21, 2025
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Introduced by Sens. LANZA, MURRAY -- 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 penal-
ties for causing the death of an animal
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 352 to read as follows:
3 § 352. Causing the death of an animal. A person is guilty of causing
4 the death of an animal, when such person commits a crime under section
5 three hundred fifty-three or section three hundred fifty-three-a of this
6 article, and such conduct results in the death of an animal. Causing
7 the death of an animal is a class D felony.
8 § 2. The opening paragraph of section 353 of the agriculture and
9 markets law, as amended by chapter 523 of the laws of 2005, is amended
10 to read as follows:
11 A person who overdrives, overloads, tortures or cruelly beats or
12 unjustifiably injures, maims, or mutilates [or kills] any animal, wheth-
13 er wild or tame, and whether belonging to [himself] them or to another,
14 or deprives any animal of necessary sustenance, food or drink, or
15 neglects or refuses to furnish it such sustenance or drink, or causes,
16 procures or permits any animal to be overdriven, overloaded, tortured,
17 cruelly beaten, or unjustifiably injured, maimed, mutilated [or killed],
18 or to be deprived of necessary food or drink, or who [wilfully] willful-
19 ly sets on foot, instigates, engages in, or in any way furthers any act
20 of cruelty to any animal, or any act tending to produce such cruelty, is
21 guilty of a class A misdemeanor and for purposes of paragraph (b) of
22 subdivision one of section 160.10 of the criminal procedure law, shall
23 be treated as a misdemeanor defined in the penal law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09006-01-5
S. 5414 2
1 § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 353-a of the agriculture and markets
2 law, as added by chapter 118 of the laws of 1999, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 1. A person is guilty of aggravated cruelty to animals when, with no
5 justifiable purpose, [he or she intentionally kills or] such person
6 intentionally causes serious physical injury to a companion animal with
7 aggravated cruelty. For purposes of this section, "aggravated cruelty"
8 shall mean conduct which: (i) is intended to cause extreme physical
9 pain; or (ii) is done or carried out in an especially depraved or sadis-
10 tic manner.
11 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
