What's happening
This bill strengthens laws against animal fighting in New York, creating new degrees of offenses and increasing penalties for violators.
Why it matters
Creates clearer and broader definitions. of both “animal fighting” and “animal fighting paraphernalia,” potentially allowing law enforcement to take action earlier and making prosecution more straightforward by specifically listing equipment often used in animal fights.
Establishes a tiered set of offenses. (third, second, and first degree, plus “enterprise” animal fighting), which means penalties will better reflect the severity and repeat nature of a violator’s conduct—ranging from misdemeanors to serious felonies. This could deter not just participants but organizers and repeat offenders.
Targets organized animal fighting operations. by creating a specific “enterprise animal fighting” felony for those involved in large-scale, repeated, or organized events, aiming to disrupt criminal enterprises rather than just punishing individuals at lower levels.
Authorizes higher fines and animal forfeiture. for those convicted, especially at higher degrees of offense, which increases the financial risks for offenders and helps ensure abused animals can be removed from their control, potentially saving animals from ongoing harm.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Crack Down on Animal Fighting
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to agriculture
- Referred to agriculture
Full text
4 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
251
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 4, 2017
Introduced by Sen. KAMINSKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Agriculture
AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law and the penal law, in relation to detecting, disrupting and dismantling violent enterprise animal cruelty and appropriately punishing individuals associated with such enterprise cruelty; and to repeal certain provisions of the agriculture and markets law relating thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 350 of the agriculture and markets law is amended by adding two new subdivisions 6 and 7 to read as follows:
6. "Animal fighting" means any fight between animals, or between any animal and a person or persons, for amusement or gain. The term shall not be construed to include exhibitions of a kind commonly featured at rodeos.
7. "Animal fighting paraphernalia" means equipment, products, or materials of any kind that are used, intended for use, or designed for use in the training, preparation, conditioning or furtherance of animal fighting. Animal fighting paraphernalia includes (i) a breaking stick, which means a device designed for insertion behind the molars of a dog for the purpose of breaking the dog's grip on another animal or object, (ii) a cat mill, which means a device that rotates around a central support with one arm designed to secure a dog and one arm designed to secure a cat, rabbit, or other small animal beyond the grasp of the dog, (iii) a treadmill, which means an exercise device consisting of an endless belt on which the animal walks or runs without changing places, (iv) a springpole, which means a biting surface attached to a stretchable device, suspended at a height sufficient to prevent a dog from reaching the biting surface while touching the ground, (v) a fighting pit, which means a walled area, or otherwise defined area, designed to
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03972-01-7
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contain an animal fight, and (vi) any other instrument commonly used in the furtherance of pitting an animal against another animal.
§ 2. Section 351 of the agriculture and markets law is REPEALED and a new section 351 is added to read as follows:
§ 351. Promoting animal fighting in the third degree. A person is guilty of promoting animal fighting in the third degree when such person:
1. Owns, possesses, sells, transfers or manufactures animal fighting paraphernalia under circumstances evincing an intent that such paraphernalia be used to engage in or otherwise promote or facilitate animal fighting; or
2. Is present at any place where an exhibition of animal fighting is being conducted and such person has knowledge that such an exhibition is being conducted.
Promoting animal fighting in the third degree is a class B misdemeanor and, for purposes of paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section 160.10 of the criminal procedure law, shall be treated as a misdemeanor defined in the penal law.
§ 3. The agriculture and markets law is amended by adding four new sections 351-a, 351-b, 351-c and 351-d to read as follows:
§ 351-a. Promoting animal fighting in the second degree. A person is guilty of promoting animal fighting in the second degree when such person:
1. Owns, possesses, or keeps any animal under circumstances evincing an intent that such animal engage in, or in any way facilitate, animal fighting; or
2. Commits the crime of promoting animal fighting in the third degree in violation of subdivision one of section three hundred fifty-one of this article and has been convicted within the previous five years of a violation of this section, section three hundred fifty-one, three hundred fifty-one-b, three hundred fifty-three, three hundred fiftythree-a, three hundred fifty-six, three hundred fifty-nine, three hundred sixty-one, or three hundred sixty-six of this article; or
3. Commits the crime of promoting animal fighting in the third degree in violation of subdivision two of section three hundred fifty-one of this article, and:
(a) has been convicted within the previous five years of a violation of this section, section three hundred fifty-one, three hundred fiftyone-b, three hundred fifty-three, three hundred fifty-three-a, three hundred fifty-six, three hundred fifty-nine, three hundred sixty-one, or three hundred sixty-six of this article, or
(b) has paid an admission fee, made a wager, or otherwise actively contributed, in any manner, to the exhibition of animal fighting being conducted.
Promoting animal fighting in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor and, for purposes of paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section 160.10 of the criminal procedure law, shall be treated as a misdemeanor defined in the penal law.
§ 351-b. Promoting animal fighting in the first degree. A person is guilty of promoting animal fighting in the first degree when such person:
1. Causes an animal to engage in animal fighting;
2. Trains an animal under circumstances evincing an intent that such animal engage in animal fighting;
S. 251 3
3. Breeds, transfers, sells, or offers for sale an animal under circumstances evincing an intent that such animal engage in animal fighting;
4. Permits any act described in subdivision one, two or three of this section to occur on premises under his or her control; or
5. Owns, possesses, harbors, or keeps any animal on premises where an exhibition of animal fighting is being conducted under circumstances evincing an intent that such animal engage in animal fighting.
Promoting animal fighting in the first degree is a class D felony.
§ 351-c. Promoting enterprise animal fighting. A person is guilty of promoting enterprise animal fighting when such person:
1. Commits the crime of promoting animal fighting in the first degree in violation of subdivision one of section three hundred fifty-one-b of this article as part of, during, or in connection with a continuous exhibition of animal fighting that includes more than two animals in successive acts of animal fighting;
2. Commits the crime of promoting animal fighting in the first degree in violation of subdivision two or three of section three hundred fifty-one-b of this article and is in possession of more than six animals under circumstances evincing an intent that such animals engage in, or otherwise facilitate, animal fighting;
3. Permits an act described in subdivision one of section three hundred fifty-one-b of this article to occur on premises under his or her control, where such act is a continuous exhibition of animal fighting that includes more than two animals in successive acts of animal fighting; or
4. Commits the crime of promoting animal fighting in the first degree in violation of section three hundred fifty-one-b of this article and has been convicted, within the previous five years, of a violation of section three hundred fifty-one, three hundred fifty-one-a, three hundred fifty-one-b, three hundred fifty-three, three hundred fiftythree-a, three hundred fifty-six, three hundred fifty-nine, three hundred sixty-one, or three hundred sixty-six of this article.
Promoting enterprise animal fighting in the first degree is a class C felony.
§ 351-d. Authorized dispositions; promoting animal fighting. When a person is convicted of an offense defined in subdivision one of section three hundred fifty-one-a of this article, in addition to the penalties provided in section three hundred seventy-four of this article and those provided in the other laws of this state, the court may impose a fine which shall not exceed fifteen thousand dollars. When a person is convicted of an offense defined in section three hundred fifty-one-b of this article, in addition to the penalties provided in section three hundred seventy-four of this article and those provided in the other laws of this state, the court may impose a fine which shall not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars. When a person is convicted of an offense defined in section three hundred fifty-one-c of this article, in addition to the penalties provided in section three hundred seventy-four of this article and those provided in the other laws of this state, the court may impose a fine which shall not exceed thirty-five thousand dollars.
§ 4. Paragraph a of subdivision 8 of section 374 of the agriculture and markets law, as amended by chapter 594 of the laws of 2003 and subdivision 8 as renumbered by chapter 479 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
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a. In addition to any other penalty provided by law, upon conviction for any violation of section three hundred fifty-one, three hundred fifty-one-a, three hundred fifty-one-b, three hundred fifty-one-c, three hundred fifty-three, three hundred fifty-three-a, three hundred fiftythree-b, three hundred fifty-five, three hundred fifty-six, three hundred fifty-nine, three hundred sixty, three hundred sixty-one, three hundred sixty-five or three hundred sixty-eight of this article, the convicted person may, after a duly held hearing pursuant to paragraph f of this subdivision, be ordered by the court to forfeit, to a duly incorporated society for the prevention of cruelty to animals or a duly incorporated humane society or authorized agents thereof, the animal or animals which are the basis of the conviction. Upon such an order of forfeiture, the convicted person shall be deemed to have relinquished all rights to the animals which are the basis of the conviction, except those granted in paragraph d of this subdivision.
§ 5. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 70.06 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 410 of the laws of 1979, is amended to read as follows:
(a) A second felony offender is a person, other than a second violent felony offender as defined in section 70.04, who stands convicted of a felony [defined in this chapter], other than a class A-I felony, after having previously been subjected to one or more predicate felony convictions as defined in paragraph (b) of this subdivision.
§ 6. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such invalid provisions had not been included herein.
§ 7. 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.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the agriculture and markets law and the penal law, in relation to detecting, disrupting and dismantling violent enterprise animal cruelty and appropriately punishing individuals associated with such enterprise cruelty; and to repeal certain provisions of the agriculture and markets law relating thereto
Purpose
This bill seeks to clarify and enhance the animal crimes laws of New York State as they pertain to animal fighting. It does so by introducing a new felony level offense for enterprise animal fighting, consolidating definitions, stratifying levels of offense, altering penalty classifications, and harmonizing provisions with the criminal procedure law and the penal law.
Summary of provisions
The bill predominately dissects and modifies the existing section 351 of the agriculture and markets law, which currently houses the various level offenses which pertain to animal fighting. As it currently stands, section 351 contains a definitions section as well as proscribed conduct sections. Unlike other modern criminal law statutes, the one section houses multiple classifications of crime: including unclassified felonies, unclassified misdemeanors, and class B misdemeanors.
Read the full memo (1,341 words)
Section three of this bill transfers the pre-existing definitions of "animal fighting" and "animal fighting paraphernalia" out of section 351 and into section 350 of the agriculture and markets law (section 350 is the "definitions" section for the overarching article). The definition of "animal fighting paraphernalia" is substantively unchanged. The definition of "animal fighting" is streamlined but possesses no change of legal import.
Section four of this bill repeals the existing section 351 in its entirety and breaks it into three successive criminal statutes (proposed sections 351 (Promoting Animal Fighting in the Third Degree), 351-a (Promoting Animal Fighting in the Second Degree), and 351-b (Promoting Animal Fighting in the First Degree)). The proposed section 351 contains vestiges of the existing subdivisions (6) and (5) of section 351. Specifically, section 351(6)(a), which pertains to animal fighting paraphernalia, serves as the foundation for the proposed section 351(1). Section 351(5)(b), which pertains to the knowing attendance of an animal fight, serves as the foundation for the proposed section 351(2). Both offenses remain class B misdemeanors despite the transfer; however, with the addition of language that harmonizes these class B misdemeanors with penal law misdemeanors, violators are subjected to the taking of fingerprints, palmprints, and mugshots (as with any penal law misdemeanor). The proposed section 351(1) also replaces the concept of "intentional" possession, which is virtually unique among possession-based crimes, with language that harmonizes the level of proof to other existing passages of section 351 (most notably as they relate to possession of animals themselves).
Section five of this bill creates the new crime of Promoting Animal Fighting in the Second Degree, which, in turn, derives its passages from the existing subdivisions (3) and (4) of section 351. Substantive changes to those passages are as follows: (1) the proposed 351-a(1) includes language of "facilitation" of animal fighting, which thusly now includes "bait animals"; (2) the proposed 351-a(2) and 351-a(3) (a) predicate higher penalties on a broader classification of animal crimes offenses, rather than limiting the higher penalty thresholds to a strict re-offense of a specific clause of the statute; (3) violation of the offense now allows for the taking of fingerprints, palmprints, and mugshot at the time of arrest processing.
Section six of this bill creates the new crime of Promoting Animal Fighting in the First Degree, which, in turn, derives its passages from the existing subdivision (2) of section 351. The passages are for the most part transferred without substantive modification, except that the inclusion of the word "transfers" in the language of the proposed 351-b(3) allows for criminal liability without proof of an actual exchange of assets. The penalty for violation of these provisions is also upgraded from an unclassified felony (which otherwise functions as a class E felony) to a class D felony.
Section seven of this bill creates the new crime of Promoting Enterprise Animal Fighting, which serves to elevate the penalty for highly-organized criminal fighting ventures. In order to violate this statute, an offender must (a) be a participant in a "continuous exhibition of animal fighting that includes more than two animals in successive acts of animal fighting," (b) be in possession of "more than six animals under circumstances evincing an intent that such animals engage in, or otherwise facilitate, animal fighting," (c) host a "continuous exhibition of animal fighting that includes more than two animals in successive acts of animal fighting," or (d) repeatedly offend the provisions protecting animals from cruelty.
Section eight of this bill truncates and transplants the authorized sentencing provisions of the existing section 351 into a separate statute as well as adds an opposite sentencing range for the newly created offense of Promoting Enterprise Animal Fighting.
Section nine of this bill conforms the special sentencing provisions of section 374 to the aforesaid statutory changes.
Section ten of this bill eliminates a bizarre loophole in the penal law whereby a repeat felony offender of the animal cruelty provisions cannot be eligible for second felony offender status. It is noted that, pursuant to section 70.70 of the penal law, a third-time offender of the animal cruelty provisions can be eligible for persistent felony offender status.
Section eleven of this bill consists of a severability clause.
Section twelve of this bill consists of its effective date.
Justification
This bill will dramatically impact the state's enforcement of animal fighting, most notably dog- and cock-fighting. According to some estimates, dogfighting is a billion-dollar underground economy - just in the United States. Some studies put the United States' share of this enterprise at a full third of the global dogfighting economy. Money is not only made by abhorrent wagers on the outcomes of fights, but also through the illicit breeding, marketing, trading, and sale of dogs. Professional fighters will market the bloodlines of their winners, make money off of forced breeding sessions (whether successful or not), and sell litters as fast as they can be produced. The underground industry is such that, besides the fighters, there are individuals who specialize as "promoters" of fights, as breeders, as trainers, and as sellers. Because the activity must go undetected, there is also a strong subversive demand for medications, specialized equipment, veterinary services, and "dark web" communication platforms (unregistered internet sites, invisible to public view).
Another awful truth of this already-atrocious enterprise is that fighters will sometimes steal animals from their surrounding community small dogs or cats - to use for bait or training for their kennels. Due to the financial benefits of this enterprise, animal fighting often serves as an underground economy for narcotics and weapons traffickers.
The current laws in effect for combating animal fighting are insufficient to deter perpetrators from the possible financial benefits of participation. In Nassau County, an individual was recently captured and convicted for a fourth dogfighting offense in 16 years. Indeed, in the most recent case, he was rearrested on new animal fighting charges while on parole for only one month following release from his last felony conviction. His sentencing exposure for the most recent arrest remained capped at 1 and 1/3 to 4 years' incarceration, with early release eligibility much sooner than the full term. The concept that highly organized, underground criminal enterprises, no matter how sophisticated or connected with other illegal enterprises, can only be punished at a class E felony level is inherently faulty. Equally faulty is the concept that current misdemeanor animal fighting charges do not allow for the capture of fingerprints, palmprints, or mugshots upon arrest.
As animal fighting is almost always multiple animals being abused simultaneously, the sentencing and penalty structure should be modified to take this "exponential" aspect into account. This bill recognizes the seriousness and pervasiveness of the underground world of animal fighting, its financial appeal, its associated crimes, and its weak enforcement, and moves to correct it with measured and reasonable levels of criminal liability.
Legislative history
S.8199 of 2016 - Rules Committee
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
90 days after enactment.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.