I recently co-sponsored legislation to update Pennsylvania’s animal abuse statutes and increase penalties for abusing animals. The legislation, Act 10 of 2017, was signed by Governor Wolf on June 28th.
The new law has been praised by the Pennsylvania SPCA as the most “comprehensive animal protection bill in the history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
Among other provisions, the act breaks down cruelty to animals into three categories, based on the egregiousness of the conduct, rather than different penalties for different animals as was the case before Act 10. The three categories under the new act include:
• Neglect of an animal, which includes denying an animal necessary food and potable water, clean and sanitary shelter, or necessary veterinary care. This is a summary offense and becomes a third-degree misdemeanor if the violation injures the animal or places the animal in imminent risk of serious injury.
• Cruelty to an animal, which includes intentionally, knowingly or recklessly ill-treating, overloading, beating, abandoning or abusing an animal. This is a second-degree misdemeanor.
• Aggravated cruelty to an animal, which includes intentionally or knowingly torturing an animal or causing serious injury or death to the animal. This will be a third-degree felony.
The new law has additional provisions dealing with tethering, reporting, and forfeiture. For a copy of the new law, call my office at 412-928-9514 or go to my website at www.pahouse.com/deasy.
As always, if you have any questions, comments and/or concerns, my offices are here to help. Please do not hesitate to call or reach out. We’re here for you!