Senate Bill No. 623
(By Senator Unger)
____________
[Introduced February 17, 2006; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary.]
____________
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 dogs and including the
length and weight of chains or tethering devices, as well as
other requirements, all of which are intended to protect dogs
from cruel treatment.
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 person cruelly mistreats, abandons or withholds
proper sustenance, including food, water, shelter 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 any animal,
or
if stationary objects with lines or chains are used as primary
enclosures for dogs kept outdoors, are too short for the dog to
move around or be able to urinate or defecate in an area separate
from where it must eat, drink, or lie down, or does not allow the
dog convenient access to food, water, dry ground or shelter, or is
not sufficient distance from other animals or objects to prohibit
tangling of the line or chain, or from extending over any object
that could result in injury or strangulation of the dog: Provided,
That the chains or similar devices used to tether dogs shall be of
a type commonly used for the size of the dog involved, shall not
exceed one-eighth the body weight of the animal, shall be at least
three times the length of the dog as measured from the tip of its
nose to the base of its tail, and shall be attached to the dog by
means of a well-fitted collar using swivel hooks; 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.
(b) If any person 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 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 his or her interest in any animal and all interest in the
animal shall vest in the humane society or county pound of the
county in which the conviction was rendered and the person shall,
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 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 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 responsible for the cost of said
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 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 dogs, including the
length and weight of chains or tethering devices, as well as other
requirements, all of which are intended to protect dogs from cruel
treatment.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.