STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          6812
                    IN SENATE
                                    February 24, 2016
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  GOLDEN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
        AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to  the  creation  of  an
          animal cruelty and animal fighting database
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Legislative findings. Studies in psychology, sociology  and
     2  criminology  have  demonstrated  that  violent offenders frequently have
     3  childhood and adolescent histories of serious and repeated animal cruel-
     4  ty. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has recognized  this  connection
     5  since  the  1970s  when  its  analysis  of  the  lives of serial killers
     6  suggested that most had killed or tortured animals  during  their  life.
     7  Other  research  has  shown  consistent patterns of animal cruelty among
     8  perpetrators of more common forms of violence,  including  child  abuse,
     9  spouse  abuse, and elder abuse, leading the American Psychiatric Associ-
    10  ation to consider animal cruelty as one of the  diagnostic  criteria  of
    11  conduct disorder.
    12    §  2.  The  executive  law is amended by adding a new section 837-s to
    13  read as follows:
    14    § 837-s. Animal cruelty database.  1. The division shall establish and
    15  maintain a crime database of all convictions in New York state of animal
    16  cruelty,  animal  fighting,  animal  neglect,  animal  abandonment,  and
    17  mistreatment  of animals as set forth in article twenty-six of the agri-
    18  culture and markets law and the penal law  where  data  of  such  crimes
    19  shall  be  collected and displayed in a manner that facilitates analysis
    20  and the  protection  of  animals.  For  the  purpose  of  this  section,
    21  convictions  shall  also  include  pleas  to  a charge other than animal
    22  cruelty,  animal  fighting,  animal  neglect,  animal  abandonment,  and
    23  mistreatment  of animals as set forth in article twenty-six of the agri-
    24  culture and markets law and the penal law in satisfaction of the  animal
    25  cruelty,  animal  fighting,  animal neglect, animal abandonment or other
    26  animal mistreatment charge or where the animal cruelty, animal fighting,
    27  animal neglect, animal abandonment or other animal  mistreatment  charge
    28  has not resulted in a dismissal on the merits.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03929-01-5