77R14602 KEL-D                           
         By Najera, Chavez, Moreno of Harris, Farrar,           H.B. No. 653
            Menendez, et al.
         Substitute the following for H.B. No. 653:
         By Hinojosa                                        C.S.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 with criminal negligence the person [he intentionally or
 1-9     knowingly]:
1-10                 (1)  [tortures or seriously overworks an animal;]
1-11                 [(2)]  fails unreasonably to provide necessary food,
1-12     care, or shelter for an animal in the person's [his] custody;
1-13                 (2) [(3)]  abandons unreasonably an animal in the
1-14     person's [his] custody;
1-15                 (3) [(4)]  transports or confines an animal in a cruel
1-16     manner;
1-17                 (4) [(5)  kills, injures, or administers poison to an
1-18     animal, other than cattle, horses, sheep, swine, or goats,
1-19     belonging to another without legal authority or the owner's
1-20     effective consent;]
1-21                 [(6)]  causes one animal to fight with another;
1-22                 (5) [(7)]  uses a live animal as a lure in dog race
1-23     training or in dog coursing on a racetrack; or
1-24                 (6) [(8)]  trips a horse.
 2-1           (b)  A person commits an offense if the person intentionally
 2-2     or knowingly:
 2-3                 (1)  tortures or seriously overworks an animal; or
 2-4                 (2)  kills, injures, or administers poison to an
 2-5     animal, other than cattle, horses, sheep, swine, or goats,
 2-6     belonging to another without legal authority or the owner's
 2-7     effective consent.
 2-8           (c)  It is a defense to prosecution under this section that
 2-9     the actor was engaged in bona fide experimentation for scientific
2-10     research.
2-11           (d) [(c)]  For purposes of this section:
2-12                 (1)  "Abandon" includes abandoning an animal in the
2-13     person's custody without making reasonable arrangements for
2-14     assumption of custody by another person.
2-15                 (2)  "Animal" means a domesticated living creature and
2-16     wild living creature previously captured. "Animal" does not include
2-17     an uncaptured wild creature or a wild creature whose capture was
2-18     accomplished by conduct at issue under this section.
2-19                 (3)  "Cruel manner" includes a manner that causes or
2-20     permits unjustified or unwarranted pain or suffering.
2-21                 (4)  "Custody" includes responsibility for the health,
2-22     safety, and welfare of an animal subject to the person's care and
2-23     control, regardless of ownership of the animal.
2-24                 (5)  "Necessary food, care, or shelter" includes food,
2-25     care, or shelter provided to the extent required to maintain the
2-26     animal in a state of good health.
2-27                 (6) [(2)]  "Trip" means to use an object to cause a
 3-1     horse to fall or lose its balance.
 3-2           (e) [(d)]  An offense under Subsection (a) [this section] is
 3-3     a Class A misdemeanor, except that the offense is a state jail
 3-4     felony if the person has previously been convicted one time [two
 3-5     times] under this section.  An offense under Subsection (b) is a
 3-6     state jail felony, except that the offense is a felony of the third
 3-7     degree if the person has previously been convicted two times under
 3-8     this section.
 3-9           (f) [(e)]  It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection
3-10     (b)(2) [(a)(5)] that the animal was discovered on the person's
3-11     property in the act of or immediately after injuring or killing the
3-12     person's goats, sheep, cattle, horses, swine, or poultry and that
3-13     the person killed or injured the animal at the time of this
3-14     discovery.
3-15           (g) [(f)]  It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection
3-16     (a)(6) [(a)(8)] that the actor tripped the horse for the purpose of
3-17     identifying the ownership of the horse or giving veterinary care to
3-18     the horse.
3-19           (h)  It is an exception to the application of this section
3-20     that the conduct engaged in by the actor is a generally accepted
3-21     and otherwise lawful:
3-22                 (1)  use of an animal if that use occurs solely for the
3-23     purpose of:
3-24                       (A)  fishing, hunting, or trapping; or
3-25                       (B)  wildlife control as regulated by state and
3-26     federal law; or
3-27                 (2)  animal husbandry or farming practice involving
 4-1     livestock.
 4-2           SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001, and
 4-3     applies only to an offense committed on or after that date. An
 4-4     offense committed before the effective date of this Act is covered
 4-5     by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former
 4-6     law is continued in effect for that purpose.  For purposes of this
 4-7     section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this
 4-8     Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.