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Subcommittee advances bill removing "unreasonably" qualifier from animal abandonment law
Summary
House Bill 76 would remove the word "unreasonably" from the statute on animal abandonment and clarify that leaving an animal at a vet or animal control center is not an automatic defense; the subcommittee voted to advance the bill 8-0.
House Bill 76, sponsored by Representative Stevens and requested by Rutherford County PAWS (Pet Adoption and Welfare Services), would modify Tennessee’s existing criminal statute on animal abandonment by removing the qualifier "unreasonably" and clarifying that abandoning an animal at a veterinary clinic or animal control center is not a statutory excuse.
The sponsor said the current phrase creates uncertainty for magistrates prosecuting abandonment because "unreasonably" is undefined in the statute. Removing that term, the sponsor said, will allow clearer enforcement and prevent courts from dismissing cases because the magistrate cannot determine what qualifies as "unreasonable." "We're not creating anything new here. It just, takes the word unreasonably out of this," the sponsor said.
Representative Barber asked whether the bill covers livestock; the sponsor responded that the existing statutory definitions govern the covered animals and that the intent is to apply to companion animals — cats and dogs — rather than livestock. The committee recorded no amendments on the floor and voted 8-0 to send the bill to the full House Judiciary Committee.
The bill text as discussed relies on existing statutory definitions for animal types; the sponsor offered to bring back any caption or technical amendments if members wished to examine them further.
