Can You Keep Animal After Animal Cruelty Conviction

Topic:
FINES; LEGISLATION; CRIMINAL Police force; ANIMALS; SENTENCING;
Location:
ANIMALS - LEGISLATION;

March 6, 2007		2007-R-0228
ANIMAL CRUELTY
By: Joseph R. Holstead, Associate Analyst

You asked for a clarification of Connecticut ' southward animal cruelty constabulary, including if the constabulary gives a gauge a corking deal of discretion in deciding animal abuse cases. You lot likewise asked if the legislature has considered bills to brand spaying and neutering of certain animals mandatory.

SUMMARY

Connecticut has several laws that prohibit cruelty to animals, ranging from broad anticruelty prohibitions that make information technology a offense to overwork or beat an animate being to specific laws against detail acts, such as cropping a dog ' s ears. The penalties for violating the anticruelty laws range from a fine of $fifty for cropping a canis familiaris ' s ears to a fine of up to $10,000 and up to ten years in prison for killing a constabulary animal.

Animal cruelty is a criminal deed. Judges accept the aforementioned discretion sentencing as they do with other criminal acts that do not behave mandatory minimum sentences. This includes the discretion to sentence an offender to probation or grant him or her conditional discharge.

The legislature has considered ii bills making spaying and neutering mandatory since 1997, according to a search of the General Associates ' due south "text of bills" electronic database. In 2001, Proposed HB 6361 would take required all animals that people adopt from pounds, shelters, and pet shops to exist neutered or spayed. The same requirement was proposed in 2003 (HB 5299) with respect to animals in pounds. Neither bill was fully drafted. Connecticut ' s brute population control program requires residents to pay a $50 adoption fee, which provides a sterilization voucher and vaccination benefits for any unsterilized dog or cat they adopt from a municipal impound facility. The voucher may be redeemed at a participating veterinarian ' s role.

CONNECTICUT LAW

Connecticut has a number of laws that prohibit animal cruelty. The Section of Agriculture (DOAg) commissioner, an brute control officer, or whatsoever constabulary enforcement officeholder can prevent any human action of beast cruelty. Anyone who interferes with, obstructs, or resists an officeholder performing his or her duty may exist fined up to $50 and imprisoned for up to thirty days (CGS � 22-329).

Anticruelty

The state ' due south broadest anticruelty law makes information technology a crime to overwork, shell, kill, torture, or hurt an animal; neglect to give it proper care; inflict cruelty upon it; deprive it of nutrient or h2o; expose information technology to poisons; fail to provide it with protection from the conditions; abandon or carry it in a brutal mode; or fight with, harass, or worry it to brand it perform. Violators may be fined up to $one,000, imprisoned for up to one year, or both.

The law also makes it an unclassified felony to maliciously and intentionally maim, mutilate, torture, wound, or kill an animal. The punishment is a prison term of upward to five years, a fine of up to $five,000, or both. The law exempts a licensed veterinarian following accepted standards of practice and anyone (ane) following statutorily approved slaughter methods; (2) performing medical research as an employee, student, or person associated with a hospital, educational institution, or laboratory; (3) following by and large accepted agricultural practices; or (4) lawfully taking wildlife (CGS � 53-247(a) and (b)).

Lastly, the police force subjects anyone who confines or tethers a canis familiaris for an unreasonable time to a fine of up to $100 for a offset crime, betwixt $100 and $250 for a second offense, and between $250 and $500 for whatever subsequent offenses (CGS � 22-350a).

Animal Fighting

By law, activities relating to promoting, profitable in, or witnessing exhibitions involving animal fights are an unclassified felony. The law imposes a penalty of upwards to five years in prison, a fine of upwards to $5,000, or both on anyone who (1) owns, possesses, keeps, or trains an brute engaged in or with intent that it engage in a fighting exhibition or (2) maliciously and intentionally maims, mutilates, tortures, wounds, or kills an brute. Information technology as well imposes the same penalty on anyone who permits any such human action to take identify on bounds under his or her control, acts as judge or spectator at an animal fighting result, or bets or wagers on its effect (CGS � 53-247(c)).

Law and Volunteer Canine Search and Rescue Dogs

By constabulary, information technology is a criminal offense, punishable by a fine of upwardly to $5,000, imprisonment for up to five years, or both, to intentionally hurt (1) any animate being performing its duties while being supervised by peace officers or (ii) whatever dog that is a member of a volunteer canine search and rescue squad performing its duties under the supervision of a person who is an active squad member.

The penalty for intentionally killing such an brute is a fine of up to $x,000, imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both. The law provides the same penalty for intentionally killing a dog that is a member of a volunteer canine search and rescue squad while the dog is performing its duties under a squad member ' s supervision(CGS � 53-247(d) and (e)).

Other Cruelty Laws

A diversity of laws prohibit other acts of cruelty and set diverse penalties for violations. The constabulary prohibits the following:

1. Selling or giving abroad an animal for work if it is unable to work and leading, riding, or driving such an animal along a public highway except for humane or medical purposes. Violators may be fined up to $200, imprisoned upward to vi months, or both (CGS � 53-248).

2. Declining to go along poultry in a germ-free condition. Violators may be fined upwardly to $100, imprisoned for up to 30 days, or both (CGS � 53-249).

3. Selling or giving away artificially colored living fowl or rabbits. Violators may be fined up to $150 (CGS � 53-249a).

4. Using animals to solicit donations, as prizes, or to concenter business. Violators may be fined up to $100, imprisoned up to thirty days, or both (CGS � 53-250).

5. Docking a horse ' southward tail, except by a veterinarian. Violators may be fined upwards to $300, imprisoned for upwards to one year, or both (CGS � 53-251).

half dozen. Cropping a dog ' southward ears, except past a veterinarian. Violators may be fined up to $50 for the first offense. For subsequent offenses they be fined up to $50, imprisoned for up to 30 days, or both (CGS � 22-366).

vii. Transporting animals by rail without proper sustenance and residuum. Violators may exist fined upwardly to $500 (CGS � 53-252).

PROSECUTING ANIMAL CRUELTY CASES

Animate being cruelty is a criminal human activity and judges have the same discretion sentencing as they do with other criminal acts not carrying mandatory minimum sentences. This includes the discretion to sentence an offender to probation or grant him or her conditional discharge (conditional discharge is similar to probation except at that place is no supervision).

The legislature added an option in 2003 under PA 03-208, which allows the court, every bit a condition of probation or conditional discharge, to require someone bedevilled of cruelty to animals to undergo psychiatric or psychological counseling or to participate in whatever existing animal cruelty prevention and didactics programme available to the defendant (CGS � 53a-30). The court may utilize this condition with people convicted in regular criminal courtroom, children (under age 16) convicted equally delinquent, those (age 16 and 17) being granted youthful offender status, and offset-time offenders being granted accelerated rehabilitation (CGS �� 46b-140, 54-76j, and, 54-56e).

The requirement that animal cruelty exist prosecuted under criminal law, however, tin be somewhat limiting in certain instances. DOAg and the Attorney General ' south Role accept determined that there is a demand for a ceremonious statutory process so that those authorized to have custody of an beast that has been maltreated may do then before arbitrament of abuse, co-ordinate to Rich Kehoe, special counsel and legislative liaison for the Attorney Full general ' southward Function.

SEIZING NEGLECTED OR CRUELLY TREATED ANIMALS

The law establishes the procedures creature command officers must utilise when seizing any neglected or cruelly treated animal (CGS � 22-329 and 329a). An officer seizing an beast must petition the Superior Court for appropriate action. The court, later hearing the petition, may club the animal destroyed, returned to its owner, or placed with an appropriate agency or person. Pending the outcome of the hearing, the court can order the beast temporarily placed with an advisable agency or person. The creature ' due south owner must post a $450 bond to pay for the animate being ' s temporary custody. The owner must pay $15 per day for food, shelter, and care, unless the courtroom finds that the animal was not neglected or cruelly treated. An officer must follow these procedures unless in a veterinarian ' s opinion the animal is so injured or diseased that information technology should be destroyed immediately. In such a case the officeholder may humanely destroy it.

Past law, subsequently a hearing, if the courtroom finds that an animal is neglected or cruelly treated, it may vest ownership in (ane) any state, municipal, or other public or private agency that is permitted by constabulary to intendance for such animals or (ii) whatever person the court finds suitable or worthy.

CONNECTICUT ' S Animate being POPULATION CONTROL PROGRAM (APCP)

Under the land APCP, a Connecticut resident must pay a $fifty fee ($45 goes to APCP, $v to municipality) when he or she adopts a pet from a pound, which entitles the adopter to a vaccination/sterilization voucher skillful for threescore days (CGS � 22-380f). The voucher provides (ane) a erstwhile sterilization fee of $50 for a male person cat, $70 for a female cat, $100 for a male person dog, and $120 for a female person dog and (ii) 2 pre-surgical vaccinations. Nonresidents may adopt a pound pet for the $five municipal fee, just are not eligible for program benefits. Pets likewise young or sick are granted a medical extension past the veterinarian; still, all young animals must be sterilized by 6 months of historic period, according to the DOAg.

Plan funding comes from an annual surcharge on Connecticut dog licenses ($2 sterilized/$6 unsterilized), the $45 adoption fee, and gain from the sale of "Caring for Pets" commemorative license plates and donations, according to DOAg ' s website: http://world wide web.ct.gov/doag/cwp/view.asp?a=1367&q=259104 .

The law defines a "pound" for the purposes of spaying and neutering every bit a state or municipal facility where impounded, quarantined, or stray dogs and cats are kept or any veterinary hospital or commercial kennel where a municipality orders such dogs or cats kept (CGS � 22-380e).

JH:dw

Source: https://www.cga.ct.gov/2007/rpt/2007-R-0228.htm

Posted by: kempclumse.blogspot.com

Share this post