PRINTER'S NO. 454
No. 434 Session of 1999
INTRODUCED BY READSHAW, BELARDI, GIGLIOTTI, BEBKO-JONES, KAISER, WOJNAROSKI, WALKO, CASORIO, CAPPABIANCA, SAINATO, J. TAYLOR, TRELLO, STABACK, CURRY, HARHAI, LAUGHLIN, RUFFING, DeLUCA, ORIE, COLAFELLA, ROSS, DALEY, CIVERA, McCALL, RAMOS, STEELMAN, FREEMAN, YOUNGBLOOD AND WILT, FEBRUARY 9, 1999
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, FEBRUARY 9, 1999
AN ACT 1 Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania 2 Consolidated Statutes, further providing for the offense of 3 animal cruelty. 4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 5 hereby enacts as follows: 6 Section 1. Section 5511 of Title 18 of the Pennsylvania 7 Consolidated Statutes is amended to read: 8 § 5511. Cruelty to animals. 9 (a) Killing, maiming or poisoning domestic animals or zoo 10 animals, etc.-- 11 (1) A person commits a misdemeanor of the second degree 12 if he willfully and maliciously: 13 (i) Kills, maims or disfigures any domestic animal 14 of another person or any domestic fowl of another person. 15 (ii) Administers poison to or exposes any poisonous 16 substance with the intent to administer such poison to 17 any domestic animal of another person or domestic fowl of
1 another person. 2 (iii) Harasses, annoys, injures, attempts to injure, 3 molests or interferes with a dog guide for an individual 4 who is blind, a hearing dog for an individual who is deaf 5 or audibly impaired or a service dog for an individual 6 who is physically limited. 7 Any person convicted of violating the provisions of this 8 paragraph shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than 9 $500. 10 (2) A person commits a felony of the third degree if he 11 willfully and maliciously: 12 (i) Kills, maims or disfigures any zoo animal in 13 captivity. 14 (ii) Administers poison to or exposes any poisonous 15 substance with the intent to administer such poison to 16 any zoo animal in captivity. 17 (2.1) (i) A person commits a misdemeanor of the second 18 degree if he willfully and maliciously: 19 (A) Kills, maims, mutilates, tortures or 20 disfigures any [dog or cat] animal, whether belonging 21 to himself or otherwise. 22 (B) Administers poison to or exposes any 23 poisonous substance with the intent to administer 24 such poison to any [dog or cat] animal, whether 25 belonging to himself or otherwise. 26 (ii) Any person convicted of violating the 27 provisions of this paragraph shall be sentenced to pay a 28 fine of not less than $1,000 or to imprisonment for not 29 more than two years, or both. A subsequent conviction 30 under this paragraph shall be a felony of the third 19990H0434B0454 - 2 -
1 degree. This paragraph shall apply to [dogs and cats] 2 animals only. 3 (iii) The killing of [a dog or cat] an animal by the 4 owner of that animal is not malicious if it is 5 accomplished in accordance with the act of December 22, 6 1983 (P.L.303, No.83), referred to as the Animal 7 Destruction Method Authorization Law. 8 (3) This subsection shall not apply to: 9 (i) the killing of any animal taken or found in the 10 act of actually destroying any domestic animal or 11 domestic fowl; 12 (ii) the killing of any animal or fowl pursuant to 13 the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1225, No.316), known as The 14 Game Law, or 34 Pa.C.S. §§ 2384 (relating to declaring 15 dogs public nuisances) and 2385 (relating to destruction 16 of dogs declared public nuisances), or the regulations 17 promulgated thereunder; or 18 (iii) such reasonable activity as may be undertaken 19 in connection with vermin control or pest control. 20 (b) Regulating certain actions concerning fowl or rabbits.-- 21 A person commits a summary offense if he sells, offers for sale, 22 barters, or gives away baby chickens, ducklings, or other fowl, 23 under one month of age, or rabbits under two months of age, as 24 pets, toys, premiums or novelties or if he colors, dyes, stains 25 or otherwise changes the natural color of baby chickens, 26 ducklings or other fowl, or rabbits or if he brings or 27 transports the same into this Commonwealth. This section shall 28 not be construed to prohibit the sale or display of such baby 29 chickens, ducklings, or other fowl, or such rabbits, in proper 30 facilities by persons engaged in the business of selling them 19990H0434B0454 - 3 -
1 for purposes of commercial breeding and raising. 2 (c) Cruelty to animals.--A person commits a summary offense 3 if he wantonly or cruelly illtreats, overloads, beats, otherwise 4 abuses any animal, or neglects any animal as to which he has a 5 duty of care, whether belonging to himself or otherwise, or 6 abandons any animal, or deprives any animal of necessary 7 sustenance, drink, shelter or veterinary care, or access to 8 clean and sanitary shelter which will protect the animal against 9 inclement weather and preserve the animal's body heat and keep 10 it dry. [This subsection shall not apply to activity undertaken 11 in normal agricultural operation.] Unless gross negligence can 12 be shown, this section shall not apply to agricultural practices 13 commonly accepted by the entire community. 14 (d) Selling or using disabled horse.--A person commits a 15 summary offense if he offers for sale or sells any horse, which 16 by reason of debility, disease or lameness, or for other cause, 17 could not be worked or used without violating the laws against 18 cruelty to animals, or leads, rides, drives or transports any 19 such horse for any purpose, except that of conveying the horse 20 to the nearest available appropriate facility for its humane 21 keeping or destruction or for medical or surgical treatment. 22 (e) Transporting animals in cruel manner.--A person commits 23 a summary offense if he carries, or causes, or allows to be 24 carried in or upon any cart, or other vehicle whatsoever, any 25 animal in a cruel or inhumane manner. The person taking him into 26 custody may take charge of the animal and of any such vehicle 27 and its contents, and deposit the same in some safe place of 28 custody, and any necessary expenses which may be incurred for 29 taking charge of and keeping the same, and sustaining any such 30 animal, shall be a lien thereon, to be paid before the same can 19990H0434B0454 - 4 -
1 lawfully be recovered, or the said expenses or any part thereof 2 remaining unpaid may be recovered by the person incurring the 3 same from the owner of said creature in any action therefor. 4 For the purposes of this section, it shall not be deemed 5 cruel or inhumane to transport live poultry in crates so long as 6 not more than 15 pounds of live poultry are allocated to each 7 cubic foot of space in the crate. 8 (f) Hours of labor of animals.--A person commits a summary 9 offense if he leads, drives, rides or works or causes or permits 10 any other person to lead, drive, ride or work any horse, mare, 11 mule, ox, or any other animal, whether belonging to himself or 12 in his possession or control, for more than 15 hours in any 24 13 hour period, or more than 90 hours in any one week. 14 Nothing in this subsection contained shall be construed to 15 warrant any persons leading, driving, riding or walking any 16 animal a less period than 15 hours, when so doing shall in any 17 way violate the laws against cruelty to animals. 18 (g) Cruelty to cow to enhance appearance of udder.--A person 19 commits a summary offense if he kneads or beats or pads the 20 udder of any cow, or willfully allows it to go unmilked for a 21 period of 24 hours or more, for the purpose of enhancing the 22 appearance or size of the udder of said cow, or by a muzzle or 23 any other device prevents its calf, if less than six weeks old, 24 from obtaining nourishment, and thereby relieving the udder of 25 said cow, for a period of 24 hours. 26 (h) Cropping ears of dog; prima facie evidence of 27 violation.--A person commits a summary offense if he crops or 28 cuts off, or causes or procures to be cropped or cut off, the 29 whole, or part of the ear or ears of a dog or shows or exhibits 30 or procures the showing or exhibition of any dog whose ear is or 19990H0434B0454 - 5 -
1 ears are cropped or cut off, in whole or in part, unless the 2 person showing such dog has in his possession either a 3 certificate of veterinarian stating that such cropping was done 4 by the veterinarian or a certificate of registration from a 5 county treasurer, showing that such dog was cut or cropped 6 before this section became effective. 7 The provisions of this section shall not prevent a 8 veterinarian from cutting or cropping the whole or part of the 9 ear or ears of a dog when such dog is anesthetized, and shall 10 not prevent any person from causing or procuring such cutting or 11 cropping of a dog's ear or ears by a veterinarian. 12 The possession by any person of a dog with an ear or ears cut 13 off or cropped and with the wound resulting therefrom unhealed, 14 or any such dog being found in the charge or custody of any 15 person or confined upon the premises owned by or under the 16 control of any person, shall be prima facie evidence of a 17 violation of this subsection by such person except as provided 18 for in this subsection. 19 The owner of any dog whose ear or ears have been cut off or 20 cropped before this section became effective may, if a resident 21 of this Commonwealth, register such dog with the treasurer of 22 the county where he resides, and if a nonresident of this 23 Commonwealth, with the treasurer of any county of this 24 Commonwealth, by certifying, under oath, that the ear or ears of 25 such dog were cut or cropped before this section became 26 effective, and the payment of a fee of $1 into the county 27 treasury. The said treasurer shall thereupon issue to such 28 person a certificate showing such dog to be a lawfully cropped 29 dog. 30 (h.1) Animal fighting.--A person commits a felony of the 19990H0434B0454 - 6 -
1 third degree if he: 2 (1) for amusement or gain, causes, allows or permits any 3 animal to engage in animal fighting; 4 (2) receives compensation for the admission of another 5 person to any place kept or used for animal fighting; 6 (3) owns, possesses, keeps, trains, promotes, purchases 7 or knowingly sells any animal for animal fighting; 8 (4) in any way knowingly encourages, aids or assists 9 therein; 10 (5) wagers on the outcome of an animal fight; 11 (6) pays for admission to an animal fight or attends an 12 animal fight as a spectator; or 13 (7) knowingly permits any place under his control or 14 possession to be kept or used for animal fighting. 15 This subsection shall not apply to activity undertaken in a 16 normal agricultural operation. 17 (i) Power to initiate criminal proceedings.--An agent of any 18 society or association for the prevention of cruelty to animals, 19 incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth, shall have the 20 same powers to initiate criminal proceedings provided for police 21 officers by the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure. An 22 agent of any society or association for the prevention of 23 cruelty to animals, incorporated under the laws of this 24 Commonwealth, shall have standing to request any court of 25 competent jurisdiction to enjoin any violation of this section. 26 (j) Seizure of animals kept or used for animal fighting.-- 27 Any police officer or agent of a society or association for the 28 prevention of cruelty to animals incorporated under the laws of 29 this Commonwealth, shall have power to seize any animal kept, 30 used, or intended to be used for animal fighting. When the 19990H0434B0454 - 7 -
1 seizure is made, the animal or animals so seized shall not be 2 deemed absolutely forfeited, but shall be held by the officer or 3 agent seizing the same until a conviction of some person is 4 first obtained for a violation of subsection (h.1). The officer 5 or agent making such seizure shall make due return to the 6 issuing authority, of the number and kind of animals or 7 creatures so seized by him. Where an animal is thus seized, the 8 police officer or agent is authorized to provide such care as is 9 reasonably necessary, and where any animal thus seized is found 10 to be disabled, injured or diseased beyond reasonable hope of 11 recovery, the police officer or agent is authorized to provide 12 for the humane destruction of the animal. In addition to any 13 other penalty provided by law, the authority imposing sentence 14 upon a conviction for any violation of subsection (h.1) shall 15 order the forfeiture or surrender of any abused, neglected or 16 deprived animal of the defendant to any society or association 17 for the prevention of cruelty to animals duly incorporated under 18 the laws of this Commonwealth and shall require that the owner 19 pay the cost of the keeping, care and destruction of the animal. 20 (k) Killing homing pigeons.--A person commits a summary 21 offense if he shoots, maims or kills any antwerp or homing 22 pigeon, either while on flight or at rest, or detains or entraps 23 any such pigeon which carries the name of its owner. 24 (l) Search warrants.--Where a violation of this section is 25 alleged, any issuing authority may, in compliance with the 26 applicable provisions of the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal 27 Procedure, issue to any police officer or any agent of any 28 society or association for the prevention of cruelty to animals 29 duly incorporated under the laws of this Commonwealth a search 30 warrant authorizing the search of any building or any enclosure 19990H0434B0454 - 8 -
1 in which any violation of this section is occurring or has 2 occurred, and authorizing the seizure of evidence of the 3 violation including, but not limited to, the animals which were 4 the subject of the violation. Where an animal thus seized is 5 found to be neglected or starving, the police officer or agent 6 is authorized to provide such care as is reasonably necessary, 7 and where any animal thus seized is found to be disabled, 8 injured or diseased beyond reasonable hope of recovery, the 9 police officer or agent is authorized to provide for the humane 10 destruction of the animal. The cost of the keeping, care and 11 destruction of the animal shall be paid by the owner thereof and 12 claims for the costs shall constitute a lien upon the animal. In 13 addition to any other penalty provided by law, the authority 14 imposing sentence upon a conviction for any violation of this 15 section [may] shall require that the owner pay the cost of the 16 keeping, care and destruction of the animal. No search warrant 17 shall be issued based upon an alleged violation of this section 18 which authorizes any police officer or agent or other person to 19 enter upon or search premises where scientific research work is 20 being conducted by, or under the supervision of, graduates of 21 duly accredited scientific schools or where biological products 22 are being produced for the care or prevention of disease. 23 (m) Forfeiture.--In addition to any other penalty provided 24 by law, the authority imposing sentence upon a conviction for 25 any violation of this section [may] shall order the forfeiture 26 or surrender of any abused, neglected or deprived animal of the 27 defendant to any society or association for the prevention of 28 cruelty to animals duly incorporated under the laws of this 29 Commonwealth. 30 (m.1) Fine for summary offense.--In addition to any other 19990H0434B0454 - 9 -
1 penalty provided by law, a person convicted of a summary offense 2 under this section shall pay a fine of not less than $50 nor 3 more than $750 or to imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or 4 both. 5 (n) Skinning of and selling or buying pelts of dogs and 6 cats.--A person commits a summary offense if he skins a dog or 7 cat or offers for sale or exchange or offers to buy or exchange 8 the pelt or pelts of any dog or cat. 9 (n.1) Psychological counseling and community service.--The 10 authority imposing sentence may order a person convicted under 11 this section to participate in available animal cruelty programs 12 or education programs, or both, or to obtain psychological 13 counseling or treatment of mental health disorders that, in the 14 judgment of the authority imposing sentence, contributed to the 15 commission of the crime. The person so convicted shall bear any 16 costs incurred for participation in counseling or treatment 17 programs under this section. The authority imposing sentence may 18 order a person convicted under this section to participate in 19 community service work at an animal shelter for a specified 20 period of time. The organization shall report to the authority 21 imposing sentence whether or not the person convicted has 22 completed the required community service work. 23 (o) Representation of humane society by attorney.--Upon 24 prior authorization and approval by the district attorney of the 25 county in which the proceeding is held, an association or agent 26 may be represented in any proceeding under this section by any 27 attorney admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of 28 Pennsylvania and in good standing. [Attorney's] Attorney fees 29 shall be borne by the humane society or association which is 30 represented unless a conviction occurs; then the authority 19990H0434B0454 - 10 -
1 imposing sentence shall order the person so convicted to pay the 2 attorney fees. 3 (o.1) Construction of section.--The provisions of this 4 section shall not supersede the act of December 7, 1982 5 (P.L.784, No.225), known as the Dog Law. 6 (p) Applicability of section.--This section shall not apply 7 to, interfere with or hinder any activity which is authorized or 8 permitted pursuant to the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1225, 9 No.316), known as The Game Law or Title 34 (relating to game). 10 (q) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following 11 words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this 12 subsection: 13 "Animal fighting." Fighting or baiting any bull, bear, dog, 14 cock or other creature. 15 "Audibly impaired." The inability to hear air conduction 16 thresholds at an average of 40 decibels or greater in the better 17 ear. 18 "Blind." Having a visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the 19 better eye with correction or having a limitation of the field 20 of vision such that the widest diameter of the visual field 21 subtends an angular distance not greater than 20 degrees. 22 "Deaf." Totally impaired hearing or hearing with or without 23 amplification which is so seriously impaired that the primary 24 means of receiving spoken language is through other sensory 25 input, including, but not limited to, lip reading, sign 26 language, finger spelling or reading. 27 "Domestic animal." Any dog, cat, equine animal, bovine 28 animal, sheep, goat or porcine animal. 29 "Domestic fowl." Any avis raised for food, hobby or sport. 30 "Normal agricultural operation." Normal activities, 19990H0434B0454 - 11 -
1 practices and procedures that farmers adopt, use or engage in 2 year after year in the production and preparation for market of 3 poultry, livestock and their products in the production and 4 harvesting of agricultural, agronomic, horticultural, 5 silvicultural and aquicultural crops and commodities. 6 "Physically limited." Having limited ambulation, including, 7 but not limited to, a temporary or permanent impairment or 8 condition that causes an individual to use a wheelchair or walk 9 with difficulty or insecurity, affects sight or hearing to the 10 extent that an individual is insecure or exposed to danger, 11 causes faulty coordination or reduces mobility, flexibility, 12 coordination or perceptiveness. 13 "Zoo animal." Any member of the class of mammalia, aves, 14 amphibia or reptilia which is kept in a confined area by a 15 public body or private individual for purposes of observation by 16 the general public. 17 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days. L21L18JLW/19990H0434B0454 - 12 -