Requires the department of transportation to attempt to identify and notify the owners of deceased domesticated animals recovered on public roads

1 Co-sponsor

• Phil Boyle

BILL NUMBER:S1135

Title of bill

An act to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to recovery of deceased domesticated animals on public roads

Purpose or general idea of bill

The purpose of the bill is to require a highway department that recovers the body of an animal killed on public roads to make all reasonable efforts to notify the family of the death and where possible to store the animal's remains for 48 hours after notification to family.

Summary of provisions

Section 1 of the bill amends the agriculture and markets law by adding a new section 377-b regarding the recovery of deceased domesticated animals on public roads. Any official of the New York State department of transportation that recovers a body of a domesticated animal killed on a public road shall make every reasonable effort to detect the owner- ship of the animal and then provide notification to the owner concerning the animal's death. If no indicia of ownership is available the department shall post a description of the animal and place of death on a publicly available website. If feasible the department shall safely store the animal's body for 48 hours after notification during which time the owner may recover the animal's remains to dispose of in a manner of their choosing.

Section 2 of the bill sets forth an immediate effective date.

Justification

Annually thousands of pets are killed in traffic in New York State. Their bodies maybe disposed of at landfills by highway departments without any notice to the families regardless of whether the pet has an identifying chip or collar.

This bill will require the New York State department of transportation to make every reasonable effort to detect the ownership of the animal and then provide notification to the owner concerning the animal's death. The bill will also require the department to store the animal's remains, if possible, for 48 hours after notification so that the family may recover the remains and dispose of them in a manner of their choosing.

This law will create an opportunity to bring closure to the grief and agony felt by many families whose companion animal is "simply missing" one day and who suffer this loss not know what happened to their beloved family member.

Prior legislative history

New.

Fiscal implications for state and local governments

None.

Effective date

This bill shall take effect immediately.