Virginia SB 1276: Cruelty to animals with intent to intimidate or threaten a household member; penalty.

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Bill Tracking - 2019 session > Legislation 

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2019 SESSION

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19100721D

SENATE BILL NO. 1276 

Offered January 9, 2019 

Prefiled January 7, 2019 

A BILL to amend and reenact � 3.2-6570 of the Code of 
 Virginia, relating to cruelty to animals with intent to intimidate or threaten 
 a household member; penalty. 
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Patrons-- Ebbin, Stanley and McClellan; Delegates: Levine and Toscano 

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Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources 

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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That � 3.2-6570 of the Code of Virginia is amended and 
 reenacted as follows:

� 3.2-6570. Cruelty to animals; penalties.

A. Any person who: 
 (i) overrides, overdrives, overloads, tortures, ill-treats, abandons, willfully 
 inflicts inhumane injury or pain not connected with bona fide scientific or 
 medical experimentation, or cruelly or unnecessarily beats, maims, mutilates, 
 or kills any animal, whether belonging to himself or another; (ii) deprives any 
 animal of necessary food, drink, shelter or emergency veterinary treatment; 
 (iii) sores any equine for any purpose or administers drugs or medications to 
 alter or mask such soring for the purpose of sale, show, or exhibition of any 
 kind, unless such administration of drugs or medications is within the context 
 of a veterinary client-patient relationship and solely for therapeutic 
 purposes; (iv) ropes, lassoes, or otherwise obstructs or interferes with one or 
 more legs of an equine in order to intentionally cause it to trip or fall for 
 the purpose of engagement in a rodeo, contest, exhibition, entertainment, or 
 sport unless such actions are in the practice of accepted animal husbandry or 
 for the purpose of allowing veterinary care; (v) willfully sets on foot, instigates, 
 engages in, or in any way furthers any act of cruelty to any animal; (vi) 
 carries or causes to be carried by any vehicle, vessel or otherwise any animal 
 in a cruel, brutal, or inhumane manner, so as to produce torture or unnecessary 
 suffering; or (vii) causes any of the above things, or being the owner of such 
 animal permits such acts to be done by another is guilty of a Class 1 
 misdemeanor.

In addition to the penalties provided in this subsection, the 
 court may, in its discretion, require any person convicted of a violation of 
 this subsection to attend an anger management or other appropriate treatment 
 program or obtain psychiatric or psychological counseling. The court may impose 
 the costs of such a program or counseling upon the person convicted.

B. Any person who: 
 (i) tortures, willfully inflicts inhumane injury or pain not connected with 
 bona fide scientific or medical experimentation, or cruelly and unnecessarily 
 beats, maims, mutilates