2024 Regular Session - Day 43 - HB 258, Rep. Susan Witten

thank you Mr Speaker I'm standing here today because Kentucky needs to address the issue of torture pertaining to dogs and cats for the sake of all good pet owners and their pets to give some history about this issue 16 years ago Senator Tom Buford saw the need to extrapolate cases of torture of dogs and cats from the animal cruelty statute torture is now classified as a classy felony albeit for subsequent offenses through this law it was acknowledged that misdemeanors just don't fit certain extreme crimes of inflicted pain when they are intentional this is a good start and House Bill 258 intends to build on and improve what was done 16 years ago some of the problems with the existing statute is that it lacks all clear definitions of torture and serious physical injury or infirmity the current statute does not mention restraints one of the Key conditions under which a pet can be tortured when it cannot escape the exemptions in this statute are incomplete and do do not cover instances that may be considered an infringement on owner rights and it refers to torture as a misdemeanor and only allows for felony charges on a second act we also needed to ensure any concerns for good pet owners rights or those of our hunters and Farmers good and respectable breeders and trainers that these were addressed it was important that we listen to these group's concerns to get these issues properly resolved and that this is what we did in the language of House Bill 258 and now I'll briefly explain some of the changes that are in this bill the specific definition of torture includes the two types of torture physical injury and infirmity and examples of these types are included in the bill the definition of restraint stresses that the cat or dog has been intentionally made incapable of physically escaping and saving itself from the specific imposed torture example of these restraints are also included in the bill but all clarify this is intention restraint and that the animal is allowed to suffer from cases of physical injury or infirmity without the condition of restraint some cases might be considered accidental locked up in a cage isn't enough to be charged with torture being intentionally starved causing Serious injury or death while being locked up and unable to escape does fit the definition also want and disregard has been added because these offenders know what the consequences of their torturous actions are going to be and they're displaying a clear lack of care we also included the exception of breed specific alterations done by a veterinarian including cropping of ears and docking of Tails and all existing exemptions in the current statute are still in place as long as there is no intent or disregard that causes increases or prolongs the pain or suffering of the dog or cat also retained is the right to defend yourself or another person against an aggressive or diseased dog or cat or in defense of a domestic animal from an aggressive diseased dog or cat in addition to these revisions we added that each Act of torture of a dog or cat May constitute a separate offense that torture of a dog or cat is a first offense Class D Felony and that human euthanasia of a cat or dog that has been seized as a victim of torture suffering extreme pain and serious injury upon the recommendation and execution of a veterinarian is permissible it's also important to note the documented correlation between those that abuse animals and those that abuse humans typically vulnerable ones such as children and the elderly studies show that close to 75% of violent animal abusers go on to commit other crimes such as rape domestic abuse and even homicide this statistic indicates Abus abusers have the propensity to escalate and to continue their criminal Behavior behavior and with no deterrent or accountability most will do so in fact 2third of all convicted violent animal abusers have also assaulted a human this bill comes from the need to separate intentional torture and gross neglect from ignorant pet ownership skills so the abuser will face the appropriate charges for their criminal act while assuring all good pet owners that their rights are protected in the process and we have done that in House Bill 258 m Mr Speaker I move passage of House Bill 258 as amended by the house committee substitute