79R3241 UM-F
By: Goolsby H.B. No. 521
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to restraining dogs with certain chains or tethers;
providing criminal penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 42.09, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (d) and by adding Subsection (j) to
read as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally
or knowingly:
(1) tortures an animal;
(2) fails unreasonably to provide necessary food,
care, or shelter for an animal in the person's custody;
(3) abandons unreasonably an animal in the person's
custody;
(4) transports or confines an animal in a cruel
manner;
(5) kills, seriously injures, or administers poison to
an animal, other than cattle, horses, sheep, swine, or goats,
belonging to another without legal authority or the owner's
effective consent;
(6) causes one animal to fight with another;
(7) uses a live animal as a lure in dog race training
or in dog coursing on a racetrack;
(8) trips a horse;
(9) injures an animal, other than cattle, horses,
sheep, swine, or goats, belonging to another without legal
authority or the owner's effective consent; [or]
(10) seriously overworks an animal; or
(11) restrains a dog with a chain or tether attached to
a tree, stake, or other stationary object for eight or more hours in
a 24-hour period.
(d) An offense under Subsection (a)(2), (3), (4), (9), [or]
(10), or (11) is a Class A misdemeanor, except that the offense is a
state jail felony if the person has previously been convicted two
times under this section.
(j) It is an exception to the application of Subsection
(a)(11) that:
(1) the chain or tether is at least 10 feet in length;
(2) the chain or tether is attached to a pulley or
trolley-mounted cable no more than seven feet above ground level;
(3) the trolley cable is at least 25 feet in length;
and
(4) the restrained dog has access to adequate food,
water, and shelter.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.