By Najera, Chavez, Moreno of Harris, Farrar, H.B. No. 653
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the prosecution of and punishment for the offense of
1-3 cruelty to animals.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 42.09, Penal Code, is amended to read as
1-6 follows:
1-7 Sec. 42.09. CRUELTY TO ANIMALS. (a) A person commits an
1-8 offense if the person [he] intentionally or knowingly:
1-9 (1) [tortures or seriously overworks an animal;]
1-10 [(2)] fails unreasonably to provide necessary food,
1-11 care, or shelter for an animal in the person's [his] custody;
1-12 (2) [(3)] abandons unreasonably an animal in the
1-13 person's [his] custody;
1-14 (3) [(4)] transports or confines an animal in a cruel
1-15 manner;
1-16 (4) [(5) kills, injures, or administers poison to an
1-17 animal, other than cattle, horses, sheep, swine, or goats,
1-18 belonging to another without legal authority or the owner's
1-19 effective consent;]
1-20 [(6)] causes one animal to fight with another;
1-21 (5) [(7)] uses a live animal as a lure in dog race
1-22 training or in dog coursing on a racetrack; or
1-23 (6) [(8)] trips a horse.
1-24 (b) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally
1-25 or knowingly:
2-1 (1) tortures or seriously overworks an animal; or
2-2 (2) kills, injures, or administers poison to an
2-3 animal, other than cattle, horses, sheep, swine, or goats,
2-4 belonging to another without legal authority or the owner's
2-5 effective consent.
2-6 (c) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that
2-7 the actor was engaged in bona fide experimentation for scientific
2-8 research.
2-9 (d) [(c)] For purposes of this section:
2-10 (1) "Abandon" includes abandoning an animal in the
2-11 person's custody without making reasonable arrangements for
2-12 assumption of custody by another person.
2-13 (2) "Animal" means a domesticated living creature and
2-14 wild living creature previously captured. "Animal" does not include
2-15 an uncaptured wild creature or a wild creature whose capture was
2-16 accomplished by conduct at issue under this section.
2-17 (3) "Cruel manner" includes a manner that causes or
2-18 permits unjustified or unwarranted pain or suffering.
2-19 (4) "Custody" includes responsibility for the health,
2-20 safety, and welfare of an animal subject to the person's care and
2-21 control, regardless of ownership of the animal.
2-22 (5) "Necessary food, care, or shelter" includes food,
2-23 care, or shelter provided to the extent required to maintain the
2-24 animal in a state of good health.
2-25 (6) [(2)] "Trip" means to use an object to cause a
2-26 horse to fall or lose its balance.
2-27 (e) [(d)] An offense under Subsection (a) [this section] is
3-1 a Class A misdemeanor, except that the offense is a state jail
3-2 felony if the person has previously been convicted one time [two
3-3 times] under this section. An offense under Subsection (b) is a
3-4 state jail felony, except that the offense is a felony of the third
3-5 degree if the person has previously been convicted two times under
3-6 this section.
3-7 (f) [(e)] It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection
3-8 (b)(2) [(a)(5)] that the animal was discovered on the person's
3-9 property in the act of or immediately after injuring or killing the
3-10 person's goats, sheep, cattle, horses, swine, or poultry and that
3-11 the person killed or injured the animal at the time of this
3-12 discovery.
3-13 (g) [(f)] It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection
3-14 (a)(6) [(a)(8)] that the actor tripped the horse for the purpose of
3-15 identifying the ownership of the horse or giving veterinary care to
3-16 the horse.
3-17 (h) It is an exception to the application of this section
3-18 that the conduct engaged in by the actor is a generally accepted
3-19 and otherwise lawful:
3-20 (1) use of an animal if that use occurs solely for the
3-21 purpose of:
3-22 (A) fishing, hunting, or trapping; or
3-23 (B) wildlife control as regulated by state and
3-24 federal law; or
3-25 (2) animal husbandry or farming practice involving
3-26 livestock.
3-27 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001, and
4-1 applies only to an offense committed on or after that date. An
4-2 offense committed before the effective date of this Act is covered
4-3 by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former
4-4 law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this
4-5 section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this
4-6 Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.