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Committee advances bill to let livestock commission levy civil penalties for equine neglect
Summary
A committee approved Senate Bill 563 to let the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission impose civil penalties (up to $5,000) for nutritional neglect of horses and other equine when veterinary scoring shows malnutrition; sponsors said the change aims to address enforcement gaps under current law.
Representative Bruce Kozart, District 91, introduced Senate Bill 563 to give the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission authority to impose civil penalties in certain equine cruelty cases.
Patrick Fisk, director of the Department of Agriculture's Livestock and Poultry division, summarized the measure: “Penalties, a person who commits offense of cruelty to animals against is subject to civil penalties opposed by the Arkansas livestock poultry due not to exceed 5,000 per violation.” He told the committee the bill would allow a body-condition score to be used to determine malnutrition for an equine.
Kozart said the change responds to enforcement challenges under the current law, which he referenced as “bridal code 562,103” in the hearing transcript, where local officers sometimes lack animal-health expertise and courts have dismissed cases because visual checks (for example, a block of hay and a cup of water) do not reflect true malnutrition.
Fisk described a staged enforcement process: investigators would issue warning letters, a state veterinarian could perform a body-condition score to document malnutrition, and civil penalties would be reserved for extreme cases rather than used as an initial sanction. Representative Wayne asked about the $5,000 cap; Fisk said prior criminal fines typically ranged from $150 up to $1,000.
Kozart closed debate and moved the bill to pass; the committee approved the motion by voice vote.
Supporters framed the bill as a targeted enforcement tool to address nutritional neglect among equine that current criminal penalties have not reliably remedied.
