Bill Text: WV HB2418 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibiting the performing of an onychectomy or flexor tendonectomy procedure on a cat
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-10 - To House Agriculture and Natural Resources [HB2418 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2018-HB2418-Introduced.html
WEST virginia Legislature
2017 regular session
By
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to the Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources then the Judiciary.
A BILL to amend and
reenact §61-8-19 of the Code of West Virginia,1931, as amended, relating to
prohibiting the performing of an onychectomy or flexor tendonectomy procedure
on a cat.
Be it enacted by the
Legislature of West Virginia:
That §61-8-19 of the
Code of West Virginia, 1939, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 8. CRIMES
AGAINST CHASTITY, MORALITY AND DECENCY.
§61-8-19. Cruelty to
animals; penalties; exclusions.
(a)(1) It is unlawful for
any person to intentionally, knowingly or recklessly,
(A) Mistreat an animal in
cruel manner;
(B) Abandon an animal;
(C) Withhold;
(i) Proper sustenance,
including food or water;
(ii) Shelter that protects
from the elements of weather; or
(iii) Medical treatment,
necessary to sustain normal health and fitness or to end the suffering of any
animal;
(D) Abandon an animal to
die;
(E) Leave an animal
unattended and confined in a motor vehicle when physical injury to or death of
the animal is likely to result;
(F) Ride an animal when it
is physically unfit;
(G) Bait or harass an
animal for the purpose of making it perform for a person's amusement;
(H) Cruelly chain or tether
an animal; or
(I) Use, train or possess a
domesticated animal for the purpose of seizing, detaining or maltreating any
other domesticated animal.
(J) Perform, or cause to
be performed, an onychectomy (declawing) or flexor tendenectomy procedure on a
cat or other animal.
(2) Any person in violation
of subdivision (1) of this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $300 nor more than $2,000 or
confined in jail not more than six months, or both.
(b) A person who
intentionally tortures, or mutilates or maliciously kills an animal, or causes,
procures or authorizes any other person to torture, mutilate or maliciously
kill an animal, is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
confined in a correctional facility not less than one nor more than five years
and be fined not less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000. For the purposes of
this subsection, "torture"
means an action taken for the primary purpose of inflicting pain.
(c) A person, other than a
licensed veterinarian or a person acting under the direction or with the
approval of a licensed veterinarian, who knowingly and willfully administers or
causes to be administered to any animal participating in any contest any
controlled substance or any other drug for the purpose of altering or otherwise
affecting said animal's performance is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not less than $500 nor more than $2,000.
(d) Any person convicted of
a violation of this section forfeits his or her interest in any animal and all
interest in the animal vests in the humane society or county pound of the
county in which the conviction was rendered and the person is, in addition to
any fine imposed, liable for any costs incurred or to be incurred by the humane
society or county pound as a result.
(e) For the purpose of this
section, the term "controlled substance" has the same meaning
ascribed to it by subsection (d), section one hundred one, article one, chapter
sixty-a of this code.
(f) The provisions of this
section do not apply to lawful acts of hunting, fishing, trapping or animal
training or farm livestock, poultry, gaming fowl or wildlife kept in private or
licensed game farms if kept and maintained according to usual and accepted
standards of livestock, poultry, gaming fowl or wildlife or game farm
production and management, nor to humane use of animals or activities regulated
under and in conformity with the provisions of 7 U.S.C. §2131, et seq.,
and the regulations promulgated thereunder, as both statutes and regulations
are in effect on the effective date of this section.
(g) Notwithstanding the provisions
of subsection (a) of this section, any person convicted of a second or
subsequent violation of subsection (a) is guilty of a misdemeanor and, shall be
confined in jail for a period of not less than ninety days nor more than one
year, fined not less than $500 nor more than $3,000, or both. The incarceration
set forth in this subsection is mandatory unless the provisions of subsection
(h) of this section are complied with.
(h)(1) Notwithstanding any
provision of this code to the contrary, no person who has been convicted of a
violation of the provisions of subsection (a) or (b) of this section may be
granted probation until the defendant has undergone a complete psychiatric or
psychological evaluation and the court has reviewed the evaluation. Unless the
defendant is determined by the court to be indigent, he or she is responsible
for the cost of the evaluation.
(2) For any person
convicted of a violation of subsection (a) or (b) of this section, the court
may, in addition to the penalties provided in this section, impose a
requirement that he or she complete a program of anger management intervention
for perpetrators of animal cruelty. Unless the defendant is determined by the
court to be indigent, he or she is responsible for the cost of the program.
(i) In addition to any
other penalty which can be imposed for a violation of this section, a court
shall prohibit any person so convicted from possessing, owning or residing with
any animal or type of animal for a period of five years following entry of a
misdemeanor conviction and fifteen years following entry of a felony
conviction. A violation under this subsection is a misdemeanor punishable by a
fine not exceeding $2,000 and forfeiture of the animal.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to
prohibit the performing of a onychectomy (declawing) or flexor tendonectomy
procedure on a cat or other animal.
Strike-throughs indicate language
that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring
indicates new language that would be added.
