Senate BillIntroduced
S 6560: Expands aggravated cruelty to animals to include all animals.
What S 6560 does, verified January 8, 2026
The bill aims to strengthen animal welfare laws in New York by expanding the definition of aggravated cruelty to animals. A person is guilty of this offense when they intentionally kill or cause serious physical injury to an animal without a justifiable purpose. The conduct is considered aggravated cruelty if it is intended to cause extreme physical pain or is done in an especially depraved or sadistic manner. The bill takes effect immediately, increasing penalties for animal cruelty.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE (2026-01-07)Alert me
Quick answers about S 6560
- What is the current status of S 6560?
- As of January 8, 2026, S 6560 is recorded as "Introduced": it has been introduced and is waiting for its first committee hearing or floor vote. The last recorded action, on January 7, 2026, was "REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE".
- Did S 6560 pass?
- Not yet. S 6560 has been introduced and has not passed either house.
- Who wrote S 6560, and where is it now?
- S 6560 was authored by Sen. Andrew Lanza. Its committee of record is Senate Agriculture.
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions2 total · showing 2
| Jan. 07, 2026 | REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE |
| Mar. 17, 2025 | REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, March 17, 2025 · 214 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6560 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 17, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. LANZA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Agriculture AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to aggra- vated cruelty to animals The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 353-a of the agriculture and 2 markets law, as added by chapter 118 of the laws of 1999, is amended to 3 read as follows: 4 1. A person is guilty of aggravated cruelty to animals when, with no 5 justifiable purpose, [he or she] such person intentionally kills or 6 intentionally causes serious physical injury to [a companion] an animal 7 with aggravated cruelty. For purposes of this section, "aggravated 8 cruelty" shall mean conduct which: (i) is intended to cause extreme 9 physical pain; or (ii) is done or carried out in an especially depraved 10 or sadistic manner. 11 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09677-01-5
Text of S 6560 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions