New York S 5654: Enhances penalties for aggravated cruelty to animals; allows aggravated animal abuse to be considered for bail

Bill Text

Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

 Skip to main content 

 New York State Assembly

 Speaker Carl E. Heastie

 --> 
 --> 

 --> 

• 
 Assembly Members 

• 
 Legislative Info 

• 
 Public Hearings 

• 
 Speaker's Press 

• 
 Assembly Reports 

• 
 Committees & More 

• Bill Search Home
• Laws
• Legislative Calendar
• Public Hearing Schedule
• Assembly Calendars
• Assembly Committee Agenda 

 Javascript must be enabled to properly view this page. 

 Bill No.: 

• Summary 
• Actions 
• Committee&nbspVotes 
• Floor&nbspVotes 
• Memo 
• Text 
• LFIN 
• Chamber&nbspVideo/Transcript 
S05654 Summary:

BILL NOS05654 

&nbsp

SAME ASNo Same As

&nbsp

SPONSORMURRAY

&nbsp

COSPNSRBORRELLO, CANZONERI-FITZPATRICK, CHAN, HELMING, MARTINS, PALUMBO, RHOADS, TEDISCO, WEIK

&nbsp

MLTSPNSR

&nbsp

Amd §§353 & 353-a, Ag & Mkts L; amd §§510.10, 530.20 & 530.40, CP L

&nbsp

Enhances penalties for aggravated cruelty to animals by making such offense a felony, including torture, beating, or killing of any animal; makes animal cruelty, including overdriving or depriving an animal of sustenance a felony when committed while released on recognizance for violating an order of protection; allows aggravated animal abuse to be considered for bail.

Go to top S05654 Actions:

BILL NOS05654 

&nbsp

02/26/2025REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE

01/07/2026REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE

Go to topS05654 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topS05654 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topS05654 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 5654

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN SENATE

 February 26, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by Sen. MURRAY -- 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, in regard to enhancing
 penalties for aggravated animal abuse; and to amend the criminal
 procedure law, in relation to allowing aggravated animal abuse to be
 considered for bail

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. Section 353 of the agriculture and markets law, as amended
 2 by chapter 458 of the laws of 1985, the opening paragraph as amended by
 3 chapter 523 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows:
 4 § 353. Overdriving[, torturing and injuring animals;] and failure to
 5 provide proper sustenance for animals. A person who overdrives, over-
 6 loads, [tortures or cruelly beats or unjustifiably injures, maims, muti-
 7 lates or kills any animal, whether wild or tame, and whether belonging
 8 to himself or to another,] or deprives any animal of necessary suste-
 9 nance, food or drink, or neglects or refuses to furnish it such suste-
 10 nance or drink, or causes, procures or permits any animal to be over-
 11 driven, overloaded, tortured, cruelly beaten, or unjustifiably injured,
 12 maimed, mutilated or killed, or to be deprived of necessary food or
 13 drink, or who wilfully sets on foot, instigates, engages in, or in any
 14 way furthers any act of cruelty to any animal, or any act tending to
 15 produce such cruelty, is guilty of a class A misdemeanor and for
 16 purposes of paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section 160.10 of the
 17 criminal procedure law, shall be treated as a misdemeanor defined in the
 18 penal law.
 19 Nothing herein contained shall be construed to prohibit or interfere
 20 with any properly conducted scientific tests, experiments or investi-
 21 gations, involving the use of living animals, performed or conducted in
 22 laboratories or institutions, which are approved for these purposes by
 23 the state commissioner of health. The state commissioner of health shall
 24 prescribe the rules under which such approvals shall be granted, includ-
 25 ing therein standards regarding the care and treatment of any such
 26 animals. Such rules shall be published and copies thereof conspicuously

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD10285-01-5

 S. 5654 2

 1 posted in each such laboratory or institution. The state commissioner of
 2 health or [his] such commissioner's duly authorized representative shall
 3 have the power to inspect such laboratories or institutions to [insure]
 4 ensure compliance with such rules and standards. Each such approval may
 5 be revoked at any time for failure to comply with such rules and in any
 6 case the approval shall be limited to a period not exceeding one year.
 7 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 353-a of the agriculture and markets
 8 law, as added by chapter 118 of the laws of 1999, is amended to read as
 9 follows:
 10 1. A person is guilty of aggravated cruelty to animals when[,]: (a)
 11 with no justifiable purpose, [he or she intentionally kills or inten-
 12