Bill Text: NY S01781 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to aggravated cruelty to animals; removes requirement that an animal be killed with aggravated cruelty in order to be guilty of such crime.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-13 - REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE [S01781 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-S01781-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1781

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 13, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  CANZONERI-FITZPATRICK  --  read  twice and ordered
          printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Agricul-
          ture

        AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation  to  aggra-
          vated cruelty to animals

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Subdivision 1 of  section  353-a  of  the  agriculture  and
     2  markets  law, as added by chapter 118 of the laws of 1999, is amended to
     3  read as follows:
     4    1. A person is guilty of aggravated cruelty to animals when,  with  no
     5  justifiable  purpose,  [he  or  she]  such person intentionally kills or
     6  intentionally causes serious physical injury to a companion animal [with
     7  aggravated cruelty. For purposes of this section,  "aggravated  cruelty"
     8  shall  mean  conduct  which:  (i)  is intended to cause extreme physical
     9  pain; or (ii) is done or carried out in an especially depraved or sadis-
    10  tic manner].
    11    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.





         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03399-01-5