By: Cain S.B. No. 1724
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
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 by amending
1-6 Subsections (a), (c), and (d) and adding Subsection (g) to read as
1-7 follows:
1-8 (a) A person commits an offense if with criminal negligence
1-9 the person [he intentionally or 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 (3) abandons unreasonably an animal in the person's
1-14 [his] custody;
1-15 (4) transports or confines an animal in a cruel
1-16 manner;
1-17 (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 (7) uses a live animal as a lure in dog race training
1-23 or in dog coursing on a racetrack; or
2-1 (8) trips a horse.
2-2 (c) For purposes of this section:
2-3 (1) "Abandon" includes abandoning an animal in the
2-4 person's custody without making reasonable arrangements for
2-5 assumption of custody by another person.
2-6 (2) "Animal" means a domesticated living creature and
2-7 wild living creature previously captured. "Animal" does not include
2-8 an uncaptured wild creature or a wild creature whose capture was
2-9 accomplished by conduct at issue under this section.
2-10 (3) "Cruel manner" includes a manner that causes or
2-11 permits unjustified or unwarranted pain or suffering.
2-12 (4) "Custody" includes responsibility for the health,
2-13 safety, and welfare of an animal subject to the person's care and
2-14 control, regardless of ownership of the animal.
2-15 (5) "Necessary food, care, or shelter" includes food,
2-16 care, or shelter provided to the extent required to maintain the
2-17 animal in a state of good health.
2-18 (6) [(2)] "Trip" means to use an object to cause a
2-19 horse to fall or lose its balance.
2-20 (d) An offense under this section is a state jail felony
2-21 [Class A misdemeanor], except that the offense is a [state jail]
2-22 felony of the third degree if the person has previously been
2-23 convicted two times under this section.
2-24 (g) It is an exception to the application of this section
2-25 that the conduct engaged in by the actor is a generally accepted
2-26 and otherwise lawful:
3-1 (1) use of an animal if that use occurs solely for the
3-2 purpose of:
3-3 (A) fishing, hunting, or trapping; or
3-4 (B) wildlife control as regulated by state and
3-5 federal law; or
3-6 (2) animal husbandry or farming practice involving
3-7 livestock.
3-8 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001, and
3-9 applies only to an offense committed on or after that date. An
3-10 offense committed before the effective date of this Act is covered
3-11 by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former
3-12 law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this
3-13 section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this
3-14 Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.