SB 399

Under current law, no one may treat an animal cruelly, fail to provide an animal

for which he or she is responsible with proper food, water, or shelter, or abandon an

animal. Under most circumstances, a person who does any of those things is guilty

of a Class A misdemeanor, except that a person who treats an animal cruelly is guilty

of a Class I felony if the mistreatment is intentional and results in the mutilation,

disfigurement, or death of the animal. Current law states that the prohibition

against treating an animal cruelly does not prohibit normal and accepted veterinary

practices.

Under this bill, a person who treats an animal cruelly is guilty of a Class I felony

if the mistreatment is intentional and results in the mutilation of, the disfigurement

of, great bodily harm to, or the death of, the animal.

The bill clarifies that a person abandons an animal if the person fails to make

arrangements for the animal's proper care, sustenance, and shelter. The bill clarifies

that a person must provide an animal with adequate food and water, that snow or

ice is not adequate water, and that failure to provide either food or water constitutes

a violation. However, the bill specifies that the prohibition against treating an

animal cruelly does not impose requirements or standards more stringent than

normally accepted animal husbandry practices for farm animals and does not impose

requirements for providing food and water to farm animals that exceed normally

accepted animal husbandry practices.

Under the bill, a court may order a violator to undergo a psychological

assessment or to participate in anger management or other psychological counseling

or treatment and may bar a violator from owning, possessing, or training any animal

or any particular type or species of animal for up to ten years.