A 850: Establishes the crimes of cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or harass in the second degree and cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or harass in the first degree when in the presence of a minor child.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 850 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL, SEAWRIGHT -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the crimes of cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or harass in the second degree and first degree The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The penal law is amended by adding two new sections 120.80 2 and 120.85 to read as follows: 3 § 120.80 Cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or harass in the 4 second degree. 5 1. A person is guilty of cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or 6 harass in the second degree when such person intentionally injures or 7 kills, with no justifiable purpose, any companion animal with the intent 8 to threaten, intimidate, or harass a family or household member who such 9 person knows or should have known owned, possessed, leased, kept, or 10 held such companion animal. 11 2. For purposes of this section: 12 (a) "Family or household member" shall have the same meaning as subdi- 13 vision two of section four hundred fifty-nine-a of the social services 14 law. 15 (b) "Companion animal" shall have the same meaning as subdivision five 16 of section three hundred fifty of the agriculture and markets law. 17 Cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or harass in the second 18 degree is a class D felony. 19 § 120.85 Cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or harass in the 20 first degree. 21 1. A person is guilty of cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or 22 harass in the first degree when such person intentionally injures or 23 kills, with no justifiable purpose and in the presence of a minor child, EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD03116-01-5 
 A. 850 2 1 any companion animal with the intent to threaten, intimidate, or harass 2 a family or household member who such person knows or should have known 3 owned, possessed, leased, kept, or held such companion animal. 4 2. For purposes of this section: 5 (a) "Family or household member" shall have the same meaning as subdi- 6 vision two of section four hundred fifty-nine-a of the social services 7 law. 8 (b) "Companion animal" shall have the same meaning as subdivision five 9 of section three hundred fifty of the agriculture and markets law. 10 (c) "Minor child" means an individual under the age of eighteen. 11 (d) "Presence of a minor child" shall mean in the physical presence of 12 a child under the age of eighteen knowing or having reason to know that 13 a child is present and may see or hear such act. 14 Cruelty to animals to threaten, intimidate or harass in the first 15 degree is a class C felony. 16 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 17 have become a law.