Bill Text: IA SF435 | 2021-2022 | 89th General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: A bill for an act providing that a person does not commit animal abuse by acting in a manner consistent with customary animal practices.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-02-24 - Subcommittee: Rozenboom, Costello, and Kinney. S.J. 456. [SF435 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2021-SF435-Introduced.html
Senate File 435 - Introduced SENATE FILE 435 BY SINCLAIR A BILL FOR An Act providing that a person does not commit animal abuse 1 by acting in a manner consistent with customary animal 2 practices. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 2686XS (2) 89 da/ns
S.F. 435 Section 1. Section 717B.2, subsection 2, Code 2021, is 1 amended by adding the following new paragraph: 2 NEW PARAGRAPH . m. A person who acts in a manner that is 3 consistent with customary animal husbandry practices. 4 EXPLANATION 5 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 6 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 7 This bill amends a provision in Code chapter 717B, which 8 prohibits the mistreatment of animals. One form of animal 9 mistreatment is animal abuse (Code section 717B.2). A 10 person commits this offense when intentionally, knowingly, 11 or recklessly acting to inflict injury, serious injury, or 12 death on an animal by force, violence, or poisoning. The bill 13 provides that the offense does not include an act conducted in 14 a manner that is consistent with customary animal husbandry 15 practices. 16 Besides animal abuse, animal mistreatment includes animal 17 neglect (Code section 717B.3) and animal torture (Code section 18 717B.3A). Certain animals are exempted from these offenses 19 including livestock (Code chapter 717), preserve whitetail 20 game, wildlife which are not confined, and animals considered a 21 nuisance (Code section 717B.1(1)). 22 A number of provisions apply to exempt certain persons 23 from the offense of animal abuse, including conduct by a 24 veterinarian; a person acting in order to carry out another 25 provision of law allowing such conduct; a person taking, 26 hunting, or trapping wildlife; a person acting to defend the 27 person or the person’s property; a local authority, such as 28 a county, acting to destroy an animal for humane purposes; a 29 research facility; and a commercial establishment acting to 30 care for an animal in accordance with an applicable standard 31 of care. 32 A person who commits animal abuse is subject to a range 33 of penalties, including a serious misdemeanor, aggravated 34 misdemeanor, or class “D” felony, depending upon the severity 35 -1- LSB 2686XS (2) 89 da/ns 1/ 2
S.F. 435 of the animal’s injury caused by the mistreatment and whether 1 the person previously committed an offense involving the 2 mistreatment of an animal. A serious misdemeanor is punishable 3 by confinement for no more than one year and a fine of at least 4 $430 but not more than $2,560. An aggravated misdemeanor is 5 punishable by confinement for no more than two years and a fine 6 of at least $855 but not more than $8,540. A class “D” felony 7 is punishable by confinement for no more than five years and a 8 fine of at least $1,025 but not more than $10,245. 9 -2- LSB 2686XS (2) 89 da/ns 2/ 2
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