HB 2753 Text

ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2753

(By Delegates Overington, Amores, Brown,
Foster, Schadler, Craig and Calvert)

[Passed March 8, 2003; in effect ninety days from passage.]

A BILL to amend and reenact section nineteen-a, article eight, chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to further amend said article by adding thereto a new section, designated section nineteen-b, all relating to animal fighting; making it a felony to be involved in specifically defined animal fighting ventures; providing a penalty for violations; making it a misdemeanor to attend an animal fight and providing a penalty therefor.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That section nineteen-a, article eight, chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said article be further amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section nineteen-b, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8. CRIMES AGAINST CHASTITY, MORALITY AND DECENCY.

§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 and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars and not more than one thousand dollars, or confined in the county jail not exceeding one year, or both so fined and confined, and may be divested of ownership and control of such animals, and be liable for all costs for their care and maintenance: 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 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 subsection (a) and (b), section nineteen-a, article eight of this chapter.

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