Bill Text: CA SB1145 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Animal fighting.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2012-07-13 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 133, Statutes of 2012. [SB1145 Detail]
Download: California-2011-SB1145-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 1145 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 133
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JULY 13, 2012
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR JULY 13, 2012
PASSED THE SENATE APRIL 23, 2012
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY JULY 2, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 29, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Senator Emmerson
(Coauthors: Senators Alquist, Cannella, Hancock, Liu, Strickland,
Walters, Wolk, and Yee)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Jeffries and Miller)
FEBRUARY 21, 2012
An act to amend Sections 597b, 597c, 597i, and 597j of the Penal
Code, relating to animal fighting.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1145, Emmerson. Animal fighting.
Existing law prohibits a person, for amusement or gain, from
causing, permitting on his or her premises, or aiding and abetting in
the fighting of specified animals, including bears and dogs. A
violation of this prohibition is a misdemeanor punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail for a period not to exceed one year, or
by a fine not to exceed $5,000, or by both.
This bill would raise the fine to $10,000.
Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to knowingly be present as a
spectator at any place, building, or tenement for an exhibition of
animal fighting or for preparations for that act. A violation of this
prohibition is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a
period not to exceed 6 months, or by a fine not to exceed $1,000, or
by both.
This bill would raise the fine to $5,000.
Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to manufacture, buy, sell,
barter, exchange, or for a person to have in his or her possession
any of the implements commonly known as gaffs or slashers, or any
other sharp implement designed to be attached in place of the natural
spur of a gamecock or other fighting bird. A violation of this
prohibition is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county
jail for a period not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed
$5,000, or by both, and upon conviction, in addition to any judgment
or sentence imposed by the court, forfeiture of possession or
ownership of those implements.
This bill would raise the fine to $10,000.
Existing law prohibits a person from owning, possessing, keeping,
or training any bird or other animal with the intent that it be used
or engaged by himself or herself, by his or her vendee, or by any
other person in an exhibition of fighting. A person who violates this
prohibition is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in
a county jail for a period not to exceed one year, by a fine not to
exceed $5,000, or by both.
This bill would raise the fine to $10,000.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 597b of the Penal Code is amended to read:
597b. (a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c), any
person who, for amusement or gain, causes any bull, bear, or other
animal, not including any dog, to fight with like kind of animal or
creature, or causes any animal, including any dog, to fight with a
different kind of animal or creature, or with any human being, or
who, for amusement or gain, worries or injures any bull, bear, dog,
or other animal, or causes any bull, bear, or other animal, not
including any dog, to worry or injure each other, or any person who
permits the same to be done on any premises under his or her charge
or control, or any person who aids or abets the fighting or worrying
of an animal or creature, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail for a period not to exceed one year, by
a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that
imprisonment and fine.
(b) Any person who, for amusement or gain, causes any cock to
fight with another cock or with a different kind of animal or
creature or with any human being; or who, for amusement or gain,
worries or injures any cock, or causes any cock to worry or injure
another animal; and any person who permits the same to be done on any
premises under his or her charge or control, and any person who aids
or abets the fighting or worrying of any cock is guilty of a
misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period
not to exceed one year, or by a fine not to exceed ten thousand
dollars ($10,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine.
(c) A second or subsequent conviction of this section is a
misdemeanor or a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail
for a period not to exceed one year or the state prison for 16
months, two, or three years, by a fine not to exceed twenty-five
thousand dollars ($25,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine,
except in unusual circumstances in which the interests of justice
would be better served by the imposition of a lesser sentence.
(d) For the purposes of this section, aiding and abetting a
violation of this section shall consist of something more than merely
being present or a spectator at a place where a violation is
occurring.
SEC. 2. Section 597c of the Penal Code is amended to read:
597c. Any person who is knowingly present as a spectator at any
place, building, or tenement for an exhibition of animal fighting, or
who is knowingly present at that exhibition or is knowingly present
where preparations are being made for the acts described in
subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 597b, is guilty of a misdemeanor
punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period not to
exceed six months, or by a fine of five thousand dollars ($5,000), or
by both that imprisonment and fine.
SEC. 3. Section 597i of the Penal Code is amended to read:
597i. (a) It shall be unlawful for anyone to manufacture, buy,
sell, barter, exchange, or have in his or her possession any of the
implements commonly known as gaffs or slashers, or any other sharp
implement designed to be attached in place of the natural spur of a
gamecock or other fighting bird.
(b) Any person who violates any of the provisions of this section
is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county
jail for a period not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed ten
thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine
and upon conviction thereof shall, in addition to any judgment or
sentence imposed by the court, forfeit possession or ownership of
those implements.
SEC. 4. Section 597j of the Penal Code is amended to read:
597j. (a) Any person who owns, possesses, keeps, or trains any
bird or other animal with the intent that it be used or engaged by
himself or herself, by his or her vendee, or by any other person in
an exhibition of fighting as described in Section 597b is guilty of a
misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period
not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars
($10,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine.
(b) This section shall not apply to an exhibition of fighting of a
dog with another dog.
(c) A second or subsequent conviction of this section is a
misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period
not to exceed one year or by a fine not to exceed twenty-five
thousand dollars ($25,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine,
except in unusual circumstances in which the interests of justice
would be better served by the imposition of a lesser sentence.
