What's happening
This bill makes it illegal to tether, cage, or pen dogs outdoors overnight and establishes penalties for violations.
Why it matters
Creates strong legal protections for dogs against being left outside at night. , reflecting growing public concern about animal welfare and the dangers of exposure to cold, heat, and other environmental hazards during overnight hours.
Sets clear and specific standards for daytime outdoor containment. , including minimum size requirements for pens/cages and mandates that dogs must always have access to essentials like food, water, shade, and dry ground—potentially improving the quality of life for many dogs statewide.
Imposes tiered criminal penalties—including potential jail time, community service, and escalating fines—for violations. , signaling that mistreatment of dogs will be treated as a serious criminal offense, not just a minor infraction.
Could affect dog owners, breeders, and businesses (such as kennels or shelters) that regularly keep dogs outdoors. , requiring some to change their practices and invest in better facilities to comply with the new law.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Ban Overnight Dog Tethering
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to agriculture
- Referred to agriculture
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
630
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Agriculture
AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to the tethering of dogs
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The agriculture and markets law is amended by adding a new section 353-g to read as follows:
§ 353-g. Tethering, restraining, caging or penning of dogs. 1. It shall be unlawful to tie, tether, restrain, cage or pen a working or non-working dog outdoors, between the hours of 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.
2. A working or non-working dog may be tied, tethered, caged or penned outdoors between the hours of 6 a.m. and 7 p.m., to a stationary object or a pen or cage in a sized pen or cage four times the height and length of said dog; provided it is in a manner that is not inhumane or detrimental to the dog's welfare, doesn't cause the dog to choke, permits the dog to escape harm and permits the dog to reach food, water, shade and dry ground.
3. Any person who knowingly violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by incarceration in city, town, village or county jail for not less than two days and not more than six months, shall perform between forty-eight and one hundred twenty hours of community service, and shall be subject to a fine of between two hundred dollars and one thousand dollars, upon their first offense. Upon their second offense, such person shall be subject to incarceration in city, town, village or county jail for not less than ten days and not more than six months, and shall be subject to a fine of between one thousand dollars and two thousand dollars. Upon their third offense, such person shall be subject to a felony.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02412-01-5
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.