This document includes House Committee Amendments incorporated into the bill on Thu, Feb 16, 2023 at 11:51 AM by pflowers.
This document includes House Floor Amendments incorporated into the bill on Fri, Feb 17, 2023 at 4:33 PM by pflowers.
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7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This bill addresses the care of animals.
10 Highlighted Provisions:
11 This bill:
12 ▸ defines terms;
13 Ĥ→ [
14 enforcement of animal care violations;
15 ▸ authorizes the department to impose civil penalties on a person for certain
16 violations;
17 ▸ establishes requirements for animal care; and
18 ▸ criminalizes a violation of the animal care requirements.
19 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
20 None
21 Other Special Clauses:
22 This bill provides a special effective date.
23 Utah Code Sections Affected:
24 AMENDS:
25 76-9-301, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2021, Chapter 57
26 ENACTS:
27 4-2-901, Utah Code Annotated 1953
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29 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
30 Section 1. Section 4-2-901 is enacted to read:
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32 4-2-901. Animal care violations.
33 (1) If resources are available, the department may, in accordance with this section,
34 respond to a complaint that a dog breeder or an animal care facility, as those terms are defined
35 in Section 76-9-301, has violated Subsection 76-9-301(2)(a) or (7).
36 (2) (a) If the department determines that a person is in violation of a provision of this
37 part, the department shall provide the person with written notice that:
38 (i) describes each violation identified by the department;
39 (ii) states a reasonable deadline by which the person is required to cure the violation;
40 and
41 (iii) explains the penalty that may be imposed if the person fails to cure the violation
42 before the stated deadline.
43 (b) If a person who receives a notice issued under Subsection (2)(a) does not cure the
44 violation identified in the notice before the deadline stated in the notice, the department may, in
45 addition to any applicable criminal penalty described in Section 76-9-301:
46 (i) impose a civil fine of up to $1,000 per violation;
47 (ii) seek a temporary restraining order;
48 (iii) seek an injunction;
49 (iv) seek an order of seizure or condemnation for an animal that is the subject of the
50 violation; or
51 (v) report the circumstances to law enforcement or a prosecutor.
52 (c) The department is not required to issue a notice described in Subsection (2)(a) for a
53 repeated occurrence of the same violation.
54 (d) The department shall deposit a fine collected under this section in the General Fund
55 as a dedicated credit to be used by the department for enforcement of this section.
56 Section 2. Section 76-9-301 is amended to read:
57 76-9-301. Cruelty to animals.
58 (1) As used in this section:
59 (a) (i) "Abandon" means to intentionally deposit, leave, or drop off any live animal:
60 (A) without providing for the care of that animal, in accordance with accepted animal
61 husbandry practices or customary farming practices; or
62 (B) in a situation where conditions present an immediate, direct, and serious threat to
63 the life, safety, or health of the animal.
64 (ii) "Abandon" does not include returning wildlife to its natural habitat.
65 (b) (i) "Animal" means, except as provided in Subsection (1)(b)(ii), a live, nonhuman
66 vertebrate creature.
67 (ii) "Animal" does not include:
68 (A) a live, nonhuman vertebrate creature, if:
69 (I) the conduct toward the creature, and the care provided to the creature, is in
70 accordance with accepted animal husbandry practices; and
71 (II) the creature is:
72 (Aa) owned or kept by a zoological park that is accredited by, or a member of, the
73 American Zoo and Aquarium Association;
74 (Bb) kept, owned, or used for the purpose of training hunting dogs or raptors; or
75 (Cc) temporarily in the state as part of a circus or traveling exhibitor licensed by the
76 United States Department of Agriculture under 7 U.S.C. 2133;
77 (B) a live, nonhuman vertebrate creature that is owned, kept, or used for rodeo
78 purposes, if the conduct toward the creature, and the care provided to the creature, is in
79 accordance with accepted rodeo practices;
80 (C) livestock, if the conduct toward the creature, and the care provided to the creature,
81 is in accordance with accepted animal husbandry practices or customary farming practices; or
82 (D) wildlife, as defined in Section 23-13-2, including protected and unprotected
83 wildlife, if the conduct toward the wildlife is in accordance with lawful hunting, fishing, or
84 trapping practices or other lawful practices.
85 (c) "Animal care facility" means an animal rescue, animal sanctuary, or animal shelter.
86 (d) "Animal rescue" means a person that:
87 (i) accepts a companion animal for the purpose of finding a permanent home for that
88 animal;
89 (ii) does not maintain a central facility for keeping the companion animal; and
90 (iii) uses a system of temporarily fostering the companion animal in a private home or
91 boarding facility.
92 (e) "Animal sanctuary" means a nonprofit entity, other than a government entity, that:
93 (i) harbors companion animals; and
94 (ii) is used exclusively for the purpose of indefinitely caring for, rehabilitating, or
95 housing companion animals.
96 (f) (i) "Animal shelter" means a public or private facility for the impoundment or care
97 of companion animals that is operated by:
98 (A) a person;
99 (B) a humane society;
100 (C) a society for the prevention of cruelty to animals; or
101 (D) a nonprofit organization.
102 (ii) "Animal shelter" does not include an animal rescue.
103 (g) "Boarding facility" means a facility where a companion animal is kept for the
104 purpose of caring for the companion animal.
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106 cat.
107 [
108 (j) (i) "Dog breeder" means a person who breeds dogs for the Ĥ→ primary or express ←Ĥ
108a purposes of selling,
109 trading, bartering, or otherwise transferring dogs to another person for profit.
110 (ii) "Dog breeder" does not include a person:
111 (A) who produces no more than one litter per calendar year, where there is only one
112 person breeding dogs from the facility or private residence; or
113 (B) who breeds exclusively livestock guardian dogs as defined in Section 76-6-111, or
114 dogs raised to work on a farm or ranch.
115 (k) "Facility" means a location other than a private residence.
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117 (i) is authorized by state law, including Division of Wildlife Resources rules; and
118 (ii) is not in violation of a local ordinance.
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120 (i) domesticated:
121 (A) cattle;
122 (B) sheep;
123 (C) goats;
124 (D) turkeys;
125 (E) swine;
126 (F) equines;
127 (G) camelidae;
128 (H) ratites; or
129 (I) bison;
130 (ii) domesticated elk, as defined in Section 4-39-102;
131 (iii) a livestock guardian dog, as defined in Section 76-6-111; or
132 (iv) any domesticated nonhuman vertebrate creature, domestic furbearer, or domestic
133 poultry, raised, kept, or used for agricultural purposes.
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135 account the species, age, and physical condition of the animal:
136 (i) appropriate and essential food and water;
137 (ii) adequate protection, including appropriate shelter, against extreme weather
138 conditions; and
139 (iii) other essential care.
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141 physical pain to an animal in an especially heinous, atrocious, cruel, or exceptionally depraved
142 manner.
143 (2) Except as provided in Subsection (4) or (6), a person is guilty of cruelty to an
144 animal if the person, without legal privilege to do so, intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or
145 with criminal negligence:
146 (a) fails to provide necessary food, water, care, or shelter for an animal in the person's
147 custody;
148 (b) abandons an animal in the person's custody;
149 (c) injures an animal;
150 (d) causes any animal, not including a dog or game fowl, to fight with another animal
151 of like kind for amusement or gain; or
152 (e) causes any animal, including a dog or game fowl, to fight with a different kind of
153 animal or creature for amusement or gain.
154 (3) Except as provided in Section 76-9-301.7, a violation of Subsection (2) is:
155 (a) a class B misdemeanor if committed intentionally or knowingly; and
156 (b) a class C misdemeanor if committed recklessly or with criminal negligence.
157 (4) A person is guilty of aggravated cruelty to an animal if the person:
158 (a) tortures an animal;
159 (b) administers, or causes to be administered, poison or a poisonous substance to an
160 animal; or
161 (c) kills an animal or causes an animal to be killed without having a legal privilege to
162 do so.
163 (5) Except as provided in Subsection (6) or Section 76-9-301.7, a violation of
164 Subsection (4) is:
165 (a) a class A misdemeanor if committed intentionally or knowingly;
166 (b) a class B misdemeanor if committed recklessly; and
167 (c) a class C misdemeanor if committed with criminal negligence.
168 (6) A person is guilty of a third degree felony if the person intentionally or knowingly
169 tortures a companion animal.
170 (7) (a) A dog breeder or animal care facility:
171 (i) shall ensure that a pregnant dog receives reasonable veterinary care, including at
172 least one prenatal or postpartum visit with a licensed veterinarian;
173 (ii) shall keep records documenting the health, Ĥ→ [
173a behaviors ←Ĥ , and medical care for
174 an animal in the dog breeder's or animal care facility's possession;
175 (iii) shall ensure that no female dog produces more than one litter in any twelve-month
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176a determined that it is safe to produce more than one litter in a twelve-month period; ←Ĥ
177 (iv) may not violate Subsection (2); and
178 (v) shall take adequate measures, including vaccination and sanitation, to prevent the
179 spread of canine disease.
180 (b) A dog breeder or animal care facility may not sell a dog that is under eight weeks of
181 age or that is not properly weaned.
182 (c) An animal care facility shall:
183 (i) make a good-faith effort to identify an animal's owner at the time the animal care
184 facility acquires the animal; and
185 (ii) continue keeping records of that effort until the animal's owner has been found or
186 the animal is no longer in the animal care facility's possession.
187 (d) In addition to any other penalty described in this section, a dog breeder's or an
188 animal care facility's violation of the requirements described in this Subsection (7) is an
189 infraction subject to a fine of $750.
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191 towards the animal was:
192 (a) by a licensed veterinarian using accepted veterinary practice;
193 (b) directly related to bona fide experimentation for scientific research, provided that if
194 the animal is to be destroyed, the manner employed will not be unnecessarily cruel unless
195 directly necessary to the veterinary purpose or scientific research involved;
196 (c) permitted under Section 18-1-3;
197 (d) by a person who humanely destroys any animal found suffering past recovery for
198 any useful purpose; or
199 (e) by a person who humanely destroys any apparently abandoned animal found on the
200 person's property.
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202 animal, the person who is not the owner of the animal shall obtain:
203 (a) the judgment of a veterinarian of the animal's nonrecoverable condition;
204 (b) the judgment of two other persons called by the person to view the unrecoverable
205 condition of the animal in the person's presence;
206 (c) the consent from the owner of the animal to the destruction of the animal; or
207 (d) a reasonable conclusion that the animal's suffering is beyond recovery, through the
208 person's own observation, if the person is in a location or circumstance where the person is
209 unable to contact another person.
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211 (a) the training, instruction, and grooming of animals, if the methods used are in
212 accordance with accepted animal husbandry practices or customary farming practices;
213 (b) the use of an electronic locating or training collar by the owner of an animal for the
214 purpose of lawful animal training, lawful hunting practices, or protecting against loss of that
215 animal; or
216 (c) the lawful hunting of, fishing for, or trapping of, wildlife.
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218 electronic locating or training collar.
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220 addition to other penalties:
221 (a) order the defendant to be evaluated to determine the need for psychiatric or
222 psychological counseling, to receive counseling as the court determines to be appropriate, and
223 to pay the costs of the evaluation and counseling;
224 (b) require the defendant to forfeit any rights the defendant has to the animal subjected
225 to a violation of this section and to repay the reasonable costs incurred by any person or agency
226 in caring for each animal subjected to violation of this section;
227 (c) order the defendant to no longer possess or retain custody of any animal, as
228 specified by the court, during the period of the defendant's probation or parole or other period
229 as designated by the court; and
230 (d) order the animal to be placed for the purpose of adoption or care in the custody of a
231 county or municipal animal control agency or an animal welfare agency registered with the
232 state to be sold at public auction or humanely destroyed.
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235 to law enforcement may not be held civilly liable for making the report.
236 Section 3. Effective date.
237 This bill takes effect on July 1, 2023.