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.