North Carolina SB 573: Enact Naturopathic Doctors Licensure Act.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 573

Short Title: Reform Animal Cruelty and Neglect laws. (Public)
Sponsors: Senator Murdock (Primary Sponsor).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
March 26, 2025
*S573-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO REFORM ANIMAL CRUELTY AND NEGLECT LAWS TO ADD 2
STANDARDS FOR ADEQUATE SPACE AND SHELTER AND TO ADDRESS 3
COMPANION ANIMAL HOARDING. 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
SECTION 1. G.S. 14-360 reads as rewritten: 6
"§ 14-360. Cruelty to animals; construction of section. 7
(a) If any person shall Persons who (i) intentionally overdrive, overload, wound, injure, 8
torment, kill, or kill an animal, or deprive any animal of necessary sustenance, adequate shelter, 9
or adequate space or (ii) cause or procure any animal to be overdriven, overloaded, wounded, 10
injured, tormented, killed, or deprived of necessary sustenance, any animal, every such offender 11
shall for every such offense be adequate shelter, or adequate space are guilty of a Class 1 12
misdemeanor.misdemeanor, with each act constituting a separate offense. If the convicted person 13
is a companion animal hoarder, the judge shall impose a requirement that the defendant obtain a 14
psychological evaluation and comply with any treatment recommended as a result of that 15
evaluation. 16
(a1) If any person shall Persons who maliciously kill, or cause or procure to be killed, any 17
animal by intentional deprivation of necessary sustenance, that person shall be sustenance are 18
guilty of a Class H felony. If the convicted person is a companion animal hoarder, the judge shall 19
impose a requirement that the defendant obtain a psychological evaluation and comply with any 20
treatment recommended as a result of that evaluation. 21
(b) If any person shall Persons who maliciously torture, mutilate, maim, cruelly beat, 22
disfigure, poison, or kill, or cause or procure to be tortured, mutilated, maimed, cruelly beaten, 23
disfigured, poisoned, or killed, any animal, every such offender shall for every such offense be 24
animal are guilty of a Class H felony. felony, with each act constituting a separate offense. 25
However, nothing in this section shall be construed to increase the penalty for cockfighting 26
provided for in G.S. 14-362. 27
(c) As used The following definitions apply in this section, the words"torture", "torment", 28
and "cruelly" include or refer to any act, omission, or neglect causing or permitting unjustifiable 29
pain, suffering, or death. As used in this section, the word "intentionally" refers to an section: 30
(1) Adequate shelter. – Shelter that meets all of the conditions of this subdivision. 31
Adequate shelter does not include the outdoor tethering of an animal during 32
any period of extreme weather at the site where the animal is tethered. 33
a. The shelter is suitable for the species, age, condition, size, and type of 34
each animal. 35

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 573-First Edition
b. The shelter protects each animal from injury, rain, sleet, snow, hail, 1
direct sunlight, the adverse effects of heat or cold, physical suffering, 2
and impairment of health. 3
c. The shelter is properly lighted and cleaned and enables each animal to 4
remain clean and dry, except when detrimental to the species. 5
d. The shelter is properly shaded and does not readily conduct heat during 6
periods when the ambient air temperature at the shelter is greater than 7
85 degrees Fahrenheit. 8
e. The shelter provides a windbreak at its entrance and, during periods 9
when the ambient air temperature at the shelter is less than 32 degrees 10
Fahrenheit, bedding material consisting of straw, cedar shavings, or 11
the equivalent sufficient to protect the animal from cold and promote 12
the retention of body heat. 13
f. For dogs and cats, the shelter provides a solid surface, resting platform, 14
pad, floormat, or similar device that is large enough for the animal to 15
lie on in a normal manner and can be maintained in a sanitary manner. 16
g. The shelter's wire, grid, or slat floors (i) do not permit the animals' feet 17
to pass through the openings, (ii) do not sag under the animals' weight, 18
and (iii) protect the animals' feet and toes from injury. 19
(2) Adequate space. – Sufficient space to allow each animal freedom of 20
movement. Adequate space for an animal that is tethered means all of the 21
following: 22
a. The tether to which the animal is attached permits freedom of 23
movement and is appropriate to the age and size of the animal; is 24
attached to the animal by a properly applied collar, halter, or harness 25
configured so as to protect the animal from injury and prevent the 26
animal or tether from becoming entangled with other objects or 27
animals or from extending over an object or edge that could result in 28
the strangulation or injury of the animal. 29
b. The tether is at least 15 feet in length or f