NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6687
SPONSOR: Tannousis TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to penal-
ties for causing the death of an animal
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to elevate the penalty for killing an animal
while exhibiting cruelty toward that animal.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1.adds § 352 to the agriculture and markets law which creates
the offense of causing the death of an animal.
Section 2 removes the killing of an animal from § 353 of the agriculture
and markets law.
Section 3 removes the killing of an animal from § 353-a .of the agricul-
ture and markets law.
JUSTIFICATION:
Currently, the penalties are the same for causing serious physical inju-
ry and causing death to an animal. The penalty should be more severe if
the animal is killed by the conduct exhibited by the defendant.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: A5192 Referred to Agriculture
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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6687
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 7, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. TANNOUSIS -- read once and referred 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
A. 6687 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.
