Senate Bill No. 700
(By Senators Unger and Sprouse)
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[Introduced February 19, 2007; referred to the Committee on
Agriculture; and then to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §61-8-19 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to prescribing minimum requirements
relative to tethering or chaining any animal; 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; and providing criminal penalties
for violations.
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 (1) A person
who cruelly mistreats, abandons or
withholds proper sustenance, including food, water,
a shelter
consisting of three sides and a roof 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.
(2) For purposes of subdivision (1) of this subsection an
animal is cruelly tethered if:
(A) A person uses a chain, leash, rope, collaring device,
tether or any assembly or attachments thereto to tether an animal
that weighs more than one eighth of the animal's body weight, or
due to weight, inhibits the free movement of the animal within the
area tethered;
(B) The animal is tethered in a manner as to cause injury,
strangulation or entanglement of the animal on fences, trees, other
man made or natural obstacles or other animals;
(C) The tether is not at least ten feet in length, unless that
length allows the animal to be on property other than its owner's
property;
(D) The tether is not long enough for the animal to move
around or be able to urinate or defecate in an area separate from where it must eat, drink or lie down and allows the animal
convenient access to food, water, dry ground or shelter; or
(E) The tether is not attached to the animal by means of a
well-fitted humane collar using swivel hooks on both ends of the
tether.
(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.