S 703: Eliminates the requirement that injury be serious with respect to aggravated cruelty to animals.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 703 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. KRUEGER, ADDABBO, CANZONERI-FITZPATRICK, HELMING, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, MARTINEZ, MATTERA, ROLISON, SERRANO, STAVISKY, TEDISCO -- 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 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. LBD02486-01-5