Introduced Version
House Bill 3111 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 3111
(By Delegate Hunt)
[Introduced
March 21, 2005
; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §61-8-19, §61-8-19a, §61-8-19b and
§61-8-20 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all
relating to expanding the definition of animal cruelty,
instituting stronger penalties for animal cruelty.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §61-8-19, §61-8-19a, §61-8-19b and §61-8-20 of the Code
of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8. CRIMES AGAINST CHASTITY, MORALITY AND DECENCY.
§61-8-19. Cruelty to animals; penalties; exclusions.
(a) If any person cruelly mistreats, abandons or withholds
proper sustenance, including food, water, shelter or medical
treatment, necessary to sustain normal health and fitness or to end
suffering or abandons any animal to die, intentionally, knowingly
or recklessly leaves an animal unattended and confined in a motor vehicle and physical injury to or death of the animal is likely to
result, or drives, rides, or otherwise uses the animal when unfit
for labor, or overdrives, drives when overloaded or overworks such
animal or fights with or baits, harasses or worries any animal for
the purpose of making it perform for amusement, diversion or
exhibition, or uses, trains or possesses any domesticated animal
for the purpose of seizing, detaining or maltreating any other
domesticated animal, he or she is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than three hundred nor
more than one two thousand dollars or confined in the county or
regional jail not more than six months one year, or both so fined
and confined.
(b) If any person intentionally tortures, maims, mutilates,
wounds or maliciously kills an animal, intentionally or knowingly
harms, interferes with or kills a working or service animal,
intentionally or knowingly allows any dog that is under the
person's custody or control to interfere with, kill or cause
physical injury to a working or service animal, recklessly allows
any dog that is under the person's custody or control to interfere
with, kill or cause physical injury to a working or service animal,
intentionally or knowingly obtains or exerts unauthorized control
over a working or service animal with the intent to deprive the
service animal handler of the service animal, or causes, procures
or authorizes any other person to torture or maliciously kill an animal, he or she is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be confined in a correctional facility not less than
one nor more than three five years and be fined not less than one
thousand dollars nor more than five thousand dollars. In addition
to the penalties set forth above, any person who is convicted of
any of the provisions involving working or service animals shall be
liable to the owner for the costs of replacing or training the
animal if he or she kills it or renders it unusable as well as any
veterinary costs incurred as a result of such action and to the
owner or agency that owns a working or service animal for the
salary of the handler for the period of time that the handler's
services are lost to the owner's agency. For the purposes of this
subsection: "Torture" means an action taken for the primary
purpose of inflicting pain; "service animal" means an animal that
has completed a formal training program, that assists its owner in
one or more daily living tasks that are associated with a
productive lifestyle and that is trained to not pose a danger to
the health and safety of the general public; "working animal" means
a dog or horse that is used by a law-enforcement agency, that is
specially trained for law-enforcement work and that is under the
control of a handler; "handler" means a law-enforcement officer or
any other person who has successfully completed a course of
training prescribed by the person's agency or the service animal
owner and who used a specially trained animal under the direction of the person's agency or the service animal owner.
(c) Any person, other than a licensed veterinarian or a person
acting under the direction or with the approval of a licensed
veterinarian, who knowingly and willfully administers or causes to
be administered to any animal participating in any contest any
controlled substance or any other drug for the purpose of altering
or otherwise affecting said animal's performance is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less
than one hundred nor more than one thousand dollars or confined in
jail for not less than ten nor more than sixty days, or both fined
and confined.
(d) Any person convicted of a violation of this section shall
forfeit his or her interest in any animal and all interest in the
animal shall vest in the humane society or county pound of the
county in which said conviction was rendered and the person shall,
in addition to any fine imposed, be liable for any costs incurred
or to be incurred by the humane society or county pound as a
result.
(e) For the purpose of this section, the term "controlled
substance" shall have the same meaning ascribed to it by subsection
(d), section one hundred one, article one, chapter sixty-a of this
code.
(f) The provisions of this section do not apply to lawful acts
of hunting, fishing, trapping or animal training or farm livestock, poultry, gaming fowl or wildlife kept in private or licensed game
farms if kept and maintained according to usual and accepted
standards of livestock, poultry, gaming fowl or wildlife or game
farm production and management, nor to humane use of animals or
activities regulated under and in conformity with the provisions of
7 U.S.C. §2131 et seq. and the regulations promulgated thereunder,
as both statutes and regulations are in effect on the effective
date of this section.
(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this
section, any person convicted of a second or subsequent violation
of said subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be confined
in the county or regional jail for a period of not less than ninety
days nor more than one year, fined not less than five hundred
dollars nor more than two three thousand dollars, or both. The
incarceration set forth in this subsection shall be mandatory
unless the provisions of subsection (h) are complied with.
(h) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the
contrary, no person who has been convicted of a violation of the
provisions of subsection (a) or (b) of this section may be granted
probation until the defendant has undergone a complete psychiatric
or psychological evaluation and the court has reviewed the
evaluation. Unless the defendant is determined by the court to be
indigent, he or she shall be responsible for the cost of said
evaluation.
(i) In addition to any other penalty which can be imposed for
a violation of this section, a court shall prohibit any person so
convicted from possessing, owning or residing with any animal or
type of animal for a period of five years following entry of a
misdemeanor conviction and fifteen years following entry of a
felony conviction. A violation under this subsection is a
misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars
and forfeiture of the animal.
§61-8-19a. Animal fighting ventures prohibited.
(a) It is unlawful for any person to engage in, be employed
at, or sell an admission to any animal fighting venture.
(b) Any person who violates the provisions of this section is
guilty of a misdemeanor felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall
be fined not less than one hundred thousand dollars and not more
than one five thousand dollars, or confined in the county jail
imprisoned not exceeding one year more than five years, or both so
fined and confined imprisoned, and may shall be divested of
ownership and control of such animals, and be liable for all costs
for their care, and maintenance or destruction: Provided, That if
the animal is a wild animal, game animal or fur-bearing animal, as
defined in section two, article one, chapter twenty of this code,
or wildlife not indigenous to West Virginia, or of a canine,
feline, porcine, bovine or equine species whether wild or
domesticated, the person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall
be fined not less than one thousand dollars and not more than five
ten thousand dollars, and imprisoned in a state correctional
facility for not less than one nor more than five years, or both
fined and imprisoned.
§61-8-19b. Attendance at animal fighting ventures prohibited;
penalty.
(a) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly attend an
animal fighting venture involving animals as provided in
subsections (a) and (b), section nineteen-a, article eight of this
chapter.
(b) Any person who violates the provisions of this section is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not less than one three hundred dollars and not more than one
two thousand dollars, or confined in the county or regional jail
not more than one year, or both fined and imprisoned.
§61-8-20. Keeping or using live birds to be shot at; penalty.
Whoever keeps or uses a live bird to be shot at either for
amusement or as a test of skill in marksmanship, or shoots at a
bird kept or used as aforesaid, or is a party to such shooting, or
lets any building, room, field, or premises, or knowingly permits
the use thereof, for the purpose of such shooting, shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by
a fine of not more than fifty ten dollars per bird or one hundred dollars whichever is greater, or by imprisonment for not more than
one month, or by both. Nothing herein contained shall apply to the
shooting of wild game.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to expand the definition of
animal cruelty, institute stronger penalties for animal cruelty,
and provide for an early intervention program for youths who engage
in animal cruelty.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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