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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the prosecution of the offense of cruelty to |
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nonlivestock animals. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Sections 42.092(b) and (d), Penal Code, are |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(b) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, |
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knowingly, [or] recklessly, or with criminal negligence: |
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(1) tortures an animal or in a cruel manner kills or |
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causes serious bodily injury to an animal; |
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(2) without the owner's effective consent, kills, |
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administers poison to, or causes serious bodily injury to an |
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animal; |
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(3) fails unreasonably to provide necessary food, |
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water, care, or shelter for an animal in the person's custody; |
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(4) abandons unreasonably an animal in the person's |
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custody; |
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(5) transports or confines an animal in a cruel |
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manner; |
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(6) without the owner's effective consent, causes |
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bodily injury to an animal; |
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(7) causes one animal to fight with another animal, if |
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either animal is not a dog; |
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(8) uses a live animal as a lure in dog race training |
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or in dog coursing on a racetrack; or |
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(9) seriously overworks an animal. |
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(d) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that: |
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(1) the actor had a reasonable fear of bodily injury to |
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the actor or to another person by a dangerous wild animal as defined |
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by Section 822.101, Health and Safety Code; [or] |
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(2) the actor was engaged in bona fide experimentation |
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for scientific research; or |
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(3) the actor acted with criminal negligence during |
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the actual discharge of the actor's duties while employed as a |
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veterinarian licensed under Chapter 801, Occupations Code, or as a |
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person assisting the veterinarian. |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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before that date. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |