What's happening
This bill expands aggravated animal cruelty laws to include wildlife, excluding insects, and clarifies exemptions for legal hunting and agriculture.
Why it matters
Expanding the law to include wildlife (except insects) makes it possible to prosecute acts of extreme cruelty against wild animals, not just pets, reflecting a broader societal concern for animal welfare.
By explicitly exempting legal hunting, trapping, fishing, and agricultural practices, the bill aims to protect traditional and regulated activities from criminal liability, clarifying where the line is drawn between cruelty and lawful use.
The inclusion of wildlife in aggravated cruelty statutes may deter deliberate, sadistic acts against wild animals and could strengthen enforcement against offenders who previously exploited legal gaps.
These changes signal a shift in how the law views the moral and ecological importance of wildlife, potentially influencing public attitudes and future policy debates around animal rights and conservation ethics.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Protect Wildlife from Cruelty
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
11 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to codes
- Reported referred to codes
- Referred to agriculture
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Protect Wildlife From Cruelty
In Senate Committee · Agriculture · Sponsor Phil Boyle
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
5050
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 6, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL, BENEDETTO, KAVANAGH, PAULIN, TITONE, RAIA, ENGLEBRIGHT, WEPRIN, OTIS, DiPIETRO, SANTABARBARA, FAHY, BUCHWALD -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. COLTON, DINOWITZ, GLICK, HEVESI, LIFTON, LUPARDO, McDONOUGH, PERRY -- read once and referred to the Committee on Agriculture
AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to aggravated cruelty to animals
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 353-a of the agriculture and markets law, as added by chapter 118 of the laws of 1999, are amended to read as follows:
1. A person is guilty of aggravated cruelty to animals when, with no justifiable purpose, he or she intentionally kills or intentionally causes serious physical injury to a companion animal or wildlife, as defined in subdivision six of section 11-0103 of the environmental conservation law, other than insects, with aggravated cruelty. For purposes of this section, "aggravated cruelty" shall mean conduct which: (i) is intended to cause extreme physical pain; or (ii) is done or carried out in an especially depraved or sadistic manner.
2. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit or interfere in any way with anyone lawfully engaged in hunting, trapping, or fishing, as provided in article eleven of the environmental conservation law, activities deemed to be sound agricultural practices pursuant to section three hundred eight of this chapter, the dispatch of rabid or diseased animals, as provided in article twenty-one of the public health law, or the dispatch of animals posing a threat to human safety or other animals, where such action is otherwise legally authorized, or any properly conducted scientific tests, experiments, or investigations involving the use of living animals, performed or conducted in laboratories or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05095-01-7
A. 5050 2
institutions approved for such purposes by the commissioner of health pursuant to section three hundred fifty-three of this article.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.