Support for the expansion of New York’s felony animal cruelty statute

SUMMARY

The Animal Law Committee issued a report in support of Assembly Bill A.2019/S.703, which seeks to strengthen New York’s felony animal cruelty law. The bill would remove the word “serious” from the phrase “serious physical injury” in Agriculture and Markets Law § 353-a. This change would make it easier to prosecute cases where a person intentionally kills or injures a companion animal with aggravated cruelty, without having to prove the injury was “serious.” The amendment would clarify the law and reduce ambiguity in court interpretations. Prosecutors would still need to prove that the harm was inflicted with intent to cause extreme pain or in a depraved/sadistic manner. Additionally, since animal cruelty is closely linked to domestic violence and other violent crimes, this change could help identify and prosecute perpetrators of in-home violence.

BILL INFORMATION

A.2019 (AM Rosenthal) / S.703 (Sen. Krueger) – Eliminates the requirement that injury be serious with respect to aggravated cruelty to animals (NYS 2025).

REPORT

REPORT ON LEGISLATION BY THE ANIMAL LAW COMMITTEE

A.2019 (AM Rosenthal)
S.703 (Sen. Krueger)

AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to aggravated cruelty to animals

THIS LEGISLATION IS APPROVED

I. BILL SUMMARY

The New York City Bar Association, through its Animal Law Committee, supports Assembly Bill No.2019[1]/Senate Bill No.703[2] (“the Bill”), which would clarify and expand the scope of New York’s felony animal cruelty statute. The Bill would remove the word “serious” from the “serious physical injury” language of Section 353-a of the Agriculture and Markets Law. This bill amends the language of the statutory provision such that a person is guilty of aggravated cruelty, within the definition, to animals when that person intentionally kills or causes physical injury to a companion animal.

II. JUSTIFICATION

Agriculture and Markets Law 353-a was enacted in 1999 and establishes the felony of aggravated animal cruelty: “A person is guilty of aggravated cruelty to animals when, with no justifiable purpose, he or she intentionally kills or intentionally causes serious physical injury to a companion animal with aggravated cruelty.”[3] Under the statute, “aggravated cruelty” means “conduct which: (i) is intended to cause extreme physical pain; or (ii) is done or carried out in an especially depraved or sadistic manner.”[4] This meaning of “aggravated cruelty” provides an adequate description of the serious nature of the act and clarifies the crime under that definition.

As it is currently written, the statutory provision to be amended by the proposed legislation requires that an animal either be killed or suffer serious physical injury in order for the person who inflicted the harm upon the animal to be found guilty of aggravated cruelty. By removing the requirement that the physical injury suffered by an animal victim of aggravated cruelty be “serious,” the proposed legislation would provide less confusion. By removing that one word, prosecuting these cases without the requirement of an additional layer of proof allows courts to find perpetrators guilty of aggravated cruelty to animals if the animal was killed or injured within the definition of aggravated cruelty.

Additionally, the requirement that an animal suffer “serious physical injury” in order to prove aggravated cruelty allows for a perpetrator to receive a lesser penalty based on how the animal recovers from an injury, and is dependent upon how a court interprets “serious” physical injury. Removing “serious” from the statutory language will provide for more consistent and straightforward prosecution of aggravated animal cruelty because it allows less room for interpretation surrounding the severity of the victim animal’s injuries. Rather, the prosecutor would need to prove an already high burden that the animal was injured or killed if a person’s actions were “intended to cause extreme physical pain” or were “done or carried out in an especially depraved or sadistic manner.”[5]

Further, studies show a strong link between animal abuse and domestic violence, as well as violence toward other humans.[6]  The proposed clarifying amendment to New York’s aggravated animal cruelty statute will identify more perpetrators of in-home violence and may help reduce domestic violence against animals and humans alike.

III. CONCLUSION

For the reasons above, the New York City Bar Association’s Animal Law Committee supports the proposed legislation.

Animal Law Committee
Sherry Ramsey and Martha Golar, Co-Chairs

June 2025