Makes the failure to provide food, water or appropriate shelter to a companion animal (dogs and cats) left outside a felony punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000, or imprisonment for not more than 2 years, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
298
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE(Prefiled)
January 4, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sens. TEDISCO, FELDER, HELMING, O'MARA, 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 the
provision of food, water and appropriate shelter for companion animals
left outdoors
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The opening paragraph of section 353 of the agriculture and
2 markets law, as amended by chapter 523 of the laws of 2005, is amended
3 to read as follows:
4 A person who overdrives, overloads, tortures or cruelly beats or
5 unjustifiably injures, maims, mutilates or kills any animal, whether
6 wild or tame, and whether belonging to himself or to another, or
7 deprives any animal, other than a companion animal, of necessary suste-
8 nance, food or drink, or neglects or refuses to furnish it such suste-
9 nance or drink, or causes, procures or permits any animal to be over-
10 driven, overloaded, tortured, cruelly beaten, or unjustifiably injured,
11 maimed, mutilated or killed, or, being any animal other than a companion
12 animal, to be deprived of necessary food or drink, or who wilfully sets
13 on foot, instigates, engages in, or in any way furthers any act of
14 cruelty to any animal, or any act tending to produce such cruelty, is
15 guilty of a class A misdemeanor and for purposes of paragraph (b) of
16 subdivision one of section 160.10 of the criminal procedure law, shall
17 be treated as a misdemeanor defined in the penal law.
18 § 2. Section 353-b of the agriculture and markets law, as added by
19 chapter 594 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows:
20 § 353-b. Appropriate shelter for [dogs] companion animals left
21 outdoors. 1. For purposes of this section:
22 (a) "Physical condition" shall include any special medical needs of a
23 dog due to disease, illness, injury, age or breed about which the owner
24 or person with custody or control of [the dog] a companion animal should
25 reasonably be aware.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02212-01-3
S. 298 2
1 (b) "Inclement weather" shall mean weather conditions that are likely
2 to adversely affect the health or safety of [the dog] a companion
3 animal, including but not limited to rain, sleet, ice, snow, wind, or
4 extreme heat and cold.
5 (c) "[Dogs] Companion animals that are left outdoors" shall mean
6 [dogs] companion animals that are outdoors in inclement weather without
7 ready access to, or the ability to enter, a house, apartment building,
8 office building, or any other permanent structure that complies with the
9 standards enumerated in paragraph (b) of subdivision three of this
10 section.
11 2. (a) Any person who owns or has custody or control of a [dog]
12 companion animal that is left outdoors shall provide it with shelter
13 appropriate to its breed, physical condition and the climate. Any person
14 who knowingly violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of
15 a [violation] felony, punishable by a fine of not [less than fifty
16 dollars nor] more than [one hundred] five thousand dollars [for a first
17 offense, and a fine of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than
18 two hundred fifty dollars for a second and subsequent offenses], or
19 imprisonment for not more than two years, or both such fine and impri-
20 sonment. Beginning seventy-two hours after a charge of violating this
21 section, each day that a defendant fails to correct the deficiencies in
22 the [dog] shelter for a [dog] companion animal that he or she owns or
23 that is in his or her custody or control and that is left outdoors, so
24 as to bring it into compliance with the provisions of this section shall
25 constitute a separate offense.
26 (b) [The court may, in its discretion, reduce the amount of any fine
27 imposed for a violation of this section by the amount which the defend-
28 ant proves he or she has spent providing a dog shelter or repairing an
29 existing dog shelter so that it complies with the requirements of this
30 section.] Nothing in this paragraph shall prevent the seizure of a [dog]
31 companion animal for a violation of this section pursuant to the author-
32 ity granted in this article.
33 3. Minimum standards for determining whether shelter is appropriate to
34 a [dog's] companion animal's breed, physical condition and the climate
35 shall include:
36 (a) For [dogs] companion animals that are restrained in any manner
37 outdoors, shade by natural or artificial means to protect the [dog]
38 companion animal from direct sunlight at all times when exposure to
39 sunlight is likely to threaten the health of the [dog] companion animal.
40 (b) For all [dogs] companion animals that are left outdoors in incle-
41 ment weather, a housing facility, which must: (1) have a waterproof
42 roof; (2) be structurally sound [with] so as to protect the companion
43 animal from the inclement weather; (3) be appropriate for the companion
44 animal's breed and physical condition, and the climate; (4) have insu-
45 lation appropriate to local climatic conditions and sufficient to
46 protect the [dog] companion animal from inclement weather; [(3)] (5)
47 have four connected sides and a raised floor; (6) have a door maintained
48 in good repair, that is offset and baffled, if necessary, to eliminate
49 the entry of drafts and precipitation, and also allow the accumulation
50 of body heat; provided, further, that damaged door flaps shall be
51 replaced; (7) be constructed to allow each [dog] companion animal
52 adequate freedom of movement to make normal postural adjustments,
53 including the ability to stand up, turn around and lie down with its
54 limbs outstretched; and [(4)] (8) allow for effective removal of excre-
55 tions, other waste material[;], dirt and trash. The housing facility and
S. 298 3
1 the area immediately surrounding it shall be regularly cleaned to main-
2 tain a healthy and sanitary environment and to minimize health hazards.
3 (c) For companion animals that are restrained in any manner outdoors
4 in an enclosure, such enclosure shall be set on a solid foundation, such
5 as stone or concrete, or solid ground that is well drained.
6 (d) For companion animals that are restrained in any enclosure, wheth-
7 er indoors or outdoors, the animal shall be provided with dry bedding
8 and/or solid resting boards so as to conserve its body heat, and under
9 no circumstance shall a companion animal be forced to lie on a damp
10 surface or upon unheated concrete or stone.
11 4. Inadequate shelter may be indicated by the appearance of the hous-
12 ing facility itself, including but not limited to, size, structural
13 soundness, evidence of crowding within the housing facility, healthful
14 environment in the area immediately surrounding such facility, or by the
15 appearance or physical condition of the [dog] companion animal.
16 5. Upon a finding of any violation of this section, any [dog or dogs]
17 companion animal or companion animals seized pursuant to the provisions
18 of this article that have not been voluntarily surrendered by the owner
19 or custodian or forfeited pursuant to court order shall be returned to
20 the owner or custodian only upon proof that appropriate shelter as
21 required by this section is being provided and the completion of any
22 sentence of imprisonment imposed for violation of this section.
23 6. Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect any
24 protections afforded to [dogs] companion animals or other animals under
25 any other provisions of this article.
26 § 3. The agriculture and markets law is amended by adding a new
27 section 353-g to read as follows:
28 § 353-g. Failure to provide proper food and drink to a companion
29 animal. Any person who, having ownership, custody or control of a
30 companion animal, refuses or neglects to supply such animal a sufficient
31 supply of food or water so as to impair the health of the companion
32 animal shall be guilty of a felony, punishable by a fine of not more
33 than five thousand dollars, or imprisonment for not more than two years,
34 or both such fine and imprisonment.
35 § 4. Section 356 of the agriculture and markets law, as amended by
36 chapter 458 of the laws of 1985, is amended to read as follows:
37 § 356. Failure to provide proper food and drink to impounded animal. A
38 person who, having impounded or confined any animal, other than a
39 companion animal, refuses or neglects to supply to such animal during
40 its confinement a sufficient supply of good and wholesome air, food,
41 shelter and water, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprison-
42 ment for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than one thou-
43 sand dollars, or by both. In case any animal, including a companion
44 animal, shall be at any time impounded as aforesaid, and shall continue
45 to be without necessary food and water for more than twelve successive
46 hours, it shall be lawful for any person, from time to time, and as
47 often as it shall be necessary, to enter into and upon any pound in
48 which any such animal shall be so confined, and to supply it with neces-
49 sary food and water, so long as it shall remain so confined; such person
50 shall not be liable to any action for such entry, and the reasonable
51 cost of such food and water may be collected by [him of] such person
52 from the owner of such animal, and the said animal shall not be exempt
53 from levy and sale upon execution issued upon a judgment therefor.
54 § 5. This act shall take effect on the first of September next
55 succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
