ENGROSSED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 383
(By Senators Craigo and Kessler)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported February 11, 1998.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section four, article ten, chapter
seven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to humane officers;
and allowing humane officers to enter private property
without a warrant to seize vicious animals.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four, article ten, chapter seven of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 10. HUMANE OFFICERS.
§7-10-4. Custody and care of animals abandoned, neglected or
cruelly treated; hearing; liability for costs; exclusions.
(a) A humane officer shall take possession of any animal,
including birds or wildlife in captivity, known or believed to be
abandoned, neglected, deprived of necessary sustenance, shelter or medical care or cruelly treated or used, as defined in
sections nineteen and nineteen-a, article eight, chapter sixty- one of this code. In addition, a humane officer may, while in
actual pursuit, enter upon private land to seize vicious animals:
Provided, That nothing in this section shall be construed to
authorize entry into a structure on private land without the
permission of the owner or possessor thereof unless such entry is
necessary to prevent imminent serious bodily injury.
(b) The owner, or person in possession, if his or her
identity and residence is known, of any animal seized pursuant to
subsection (a) of this section, shall be provided written notice
of such the seizure, their liability for the cost and care of the
animal seized as herein provided in this section, and the right
to request a hearing before a magistrate in the county wherein
the animal was seized. The magistrate court shall schedule any
hearing so requested within ten working days of the receipt of
the request. The failure of an owner or person in possession to
request a hearing within five working days of the seizure shall
be deemed considered prima facie evidence of the abandonment of
said the animal. At the hearing, if requested, the magistrate
shall determine if probable cause exists to believe that such the
animal was abandoned, neglected or deprived of necessary
sustenance, shelter or medical care, or otherwise treated or used
cruelly as set forth herein in this section.
(c) Upon finding of such probable cause, or if no hearing is requested, if the magistrate finds probable cause based upon the
affidavit of the humane officer, the magistrate shall enter an
order authorizing any humane officer to maintain possession of
the animal pending further proceedings, appeal or the disposition
of any criminal charges pursuant to chapter sixty-one of this
code.
(d) Any person whose animal is seized and against whom a
finding of probable cause is rendered pursuant to this section is
liable for the costs of the care, medical treatment and
provisions for such the animal during any period it remains in
the possession of the humane officer.
(e) If, after the humane officer takes possession of the
animal pursuant to the finding of probable cause, it is
determined by a licensed veterinarian that the animal should be
humanely destroyed to end its suffering, the veterinarian may
order the animal to be humanely destroyed according to acceptable
humane standards and neither the humane officer nor the
veterinarian may be subject to any civil or criminal liability as
a result of any such that determination.
(f) The provisions of this section do not apply to 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, wildlife
or game farm production and management, nor to the 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 such statutes and regulations are
in effect on the effective date of this section.