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Committee weighs wide-ranging changes to animal cruelty, fighting laws
Summary
Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1149 would expand criminal definitions and penalties for animal cruelty and animal fighting, reduce the confinement period that permits bystanders to provide food and water, and authorize broader entry and seizure powers for officers. Proponents said the changes close enforcement loopholes and align penalties with
The Law & Justice Committee held an extended public hearing on Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1149 on March 13. The bill, as described by staff counsel Patrick Moore, would expand the crimes of animal cruelty and animal fighting, modify enforcement tools and penalties, and change certain investigatory thresholds.
Moore briefed the committee on key changes: expanding the definition of animal fighting to include aiding or abetting, designating animal fighting as a ranked felony on the sentencing grid (with higher ranking where intentional mutilation is involved), imposing permanent prohibitions on animal ownership for animal-fighting convictions, reducing the time an animal must be confined without necessary food and water from 36 to 24 hours, and…
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