1-1 By: Najera, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Cain) H.B. No. 653
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 11, 2001;
1-3 May 11, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
1-4 Justice; May 11, 2001, reported favorably by the following vote:
1-5 Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 11, 2001, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to the prosecution of and punishment for the offense of
1-9 cruelty to animals.
1-10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11 SECTION 1. Section 42.09, Penal Code, is amended to read as
1-12 follows:
1-13 Sec. 42.09. CRUELTY TO ANIMALS. (a) A person commits an
1-14 offense if the person [he] intentionally or knowingly:
1-15 (1) [tortures or seriously overworks an animal;]
1-16 [(2)] fails unreasonably to provide necessary food,
1-17 care, or shelter for an animal in the person's [his] custody;
1-18 (2) [(3)] abandons unreasonably an animal in the
1-19 person's [his] custody;
1-20 (3) [(4)] transports or confines an animal in a cruel
1-21 manner;
1-22 (4) [(5) kills, injures, or administers poison to an
1-23 animal, other than cattle, horses, sheep, swine, or goats,
1-24 belonging to another without legal authority or the owner's
1-25 effective consent;]
1-26 [(6)] causes one animal to fight with another;
1-27 (5) [(7)] uses a live animal as a lure in dog race
1-28 training or in dog coursing on a racetrack; or
1-29 (6) [(8)] trips a horse.
1-30 (b) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally
1-31 or knowingly:
1-32 (1) tortures or seriously overworks an animal; or
1-33 (2) kills, injures, or administers poison to an
1-34 animal, other than cattle, horses, sheep, swine, or goats,
1-35 belonging to another without legal authority or the owner's
1-36 effective consent.
1-37 (c) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that
1-38 the actor was engaged in bona fide experimentation for scientific
1-39 research.
1-40 (d) [(c)] For purposes of this section:
1-41 (1) "Abandon" includes abandoning an animal in the
1-42 person's custody without making reasonable arrangements for
1-43 assumption of custody by another person.
1-44 (2) "Animal" means a domesticated living creature and
1-45 wild living creature previously captured. "Animal" does not include
1-46 an uncaptured wild creature or a wild creature whose capture was
1-47 accomplished by conduct at issue under this section.
1-48 (3) "Cruel manner" includes a manner that causes or
1-49 permits unjustified or unwarranted pain or suffering.
1-50 (4) "Custody" includes responsibility for the health,
1-51 safety, and welfare of an animal subject to the person's care and
1-52 control, regardless of ownership of the animal.
1-53 (5) "Necessary food, care, or shelter" includes food,
1-54 care, or shelter provided to the extent required to maintain the
1-55 animal in a state of good health.
1-56 (6) [(2)] "Trip" means to use an object to cause a
1-57 horse to fall or lose its balance.
1-58 (e) [(d)] An offense under Subsection (a) [this section] is
1-59 a Class A misdemeanor, except that the offense is a state jail
1-60 felony if the person has previously been convicted one time [two
1-61 times] under this section. An offense under Subsection (b) is a
1-62 state jail felony, except that the offense is a felony of the third
1-63 degree if the person has previously been convicted two times under
1-64 this section.
2-1 (f) [(e)] It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection
2-2 (b)(2) [(a)(5)] that the animal was discovered on the person's
2-3 property in the act of or immediately after injuring or killing the
2-4 person's goats, sheep, cattle, horses, swine, or poultry and that
2-5 the person killed or injured the animal at the time of this
2-6 discovery.
2-7 (g) [(f)] It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection
2-8 (a)(6) [(a)(8)] that the actor tripped the horse for the purpose of
2-9 identifying the ownership of the horse or giving veterinary care to
2-10 the horse.
2-11 (h) It is an exception to the application of this section
2-12 that the conduct engaged in by the actor is a generally accepted
2-13 and otherwise lawful:
2-14 (1) use of an animal if that use occurs solely for the
2-15 purpose of:
2-16 (A) fishing, hunting, or trapping; or
2-17 (B) wildlife control as regulated by state and
2-18 federal law; or
2-19 (2) animal husbandry or farming practice involving
2-20 livestock.
2-21 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001, and
2-22 applies only to an offense committed on or after that date. An
2-23 offense committed before the effective date of this Act is covered
2-24 by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former
2-25 law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this
2-26 section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this
2-27 Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
2-28 * * * * *