H. B. 4344
(By Delegates Webster, Overington, Pino, Schadler, Brown,
Fleischauer and Shook
)
[Introduced January 30, 2008; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §61-8-19 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to the criminal offense of cruelty
to animals; providing that animals be adequately sheltered;
and prohibiting the tethering or chaining of animals in a
cruel manner.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §61-8-19 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8. CRIMES AGAINST CHASTITY, MORALITY AND DECENCY.
§61-8-19. Cruelty to animals; penalties; exclusions.
(a)
If any A person
who cruelly mistreats, abandons or
withholds proper sustenance, including food, water, shelter
that
protects from the elements of weather, or medical treatment,
necessary to sustain normal health and fitness or to end suffering
or abandons any animal to die, or intentionally, knowingly or recklessly leaves an animal unattended and confined in a motor
vehicle when physical injury to or death of the animal is likely to
result, or rides an animal when it is physically unfit, or baits or
harasses any animal for the purpose of making it perform for a
person's amusement, or cruelly chains
or cruelly tethers any animal
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
two thousand dollars or confined in jail not more than six months,
or both.
(b)
If any A person
who intentionally tortures, or mutilates
or maliciously kills an animal, or causes, procures or authorizes
any other person to torture, mutilate 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 five years and be fined not less than one
thousand dollars nor more than five thousand dollars. For the
purposes of this subsection, "torture" means an action taken for
the primary purpose of inflicting pain.
(c)
Any A 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 five hundred nor more than two thousand
dollars.
(d) Any person convicted of a violation of this section
shall
forfeit forfeits his or her interest in any animal and all interest
in the animal
shall vest vests in the humane society or county
pound of the county in which the conviction was rendered and the
person
shall is, 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" has 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
(a) is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be
confined in 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 three thousand dollars, or both. The incarceration set forth
in this subsection
shall be is mandatory unless the provisions of
subsection (h) of this section are complied with.
(h) (1) 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 is responsible for the cost of
said
the evaluation.
(2) For any person convicted of a violation of subsection (a)
or (b) of this section, the court may, in addition to the penalties
provided in this section, impose a requirement that he or she
complete a program of anger management intervention for
perpetrators of animal cruelty. Unless the defendant is determined
by the court to be indigent, he or she
shall be is responsible for
the cost of the program.
(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.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prescribe minimum
requirements relative to tethering or chaining animals, including
the length and weight of chains or tethering devices, as well as
other requirements, all of which are intended to protect animals
from cruel treatment.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.