HOUSE BILL NO. 2904 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE MAYHEW.
5546H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT To repeal section 578.012, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to the offense of animal abuse, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 578.012, RSMo, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu 2 thereof, to be known as section 578.012, to read as follows: 578.012. 1. A person commits the offense of animal abuse if he or she: 2 (1) Intentionally or purposely kills an animal in any manner not allowed by or 3 expressly exempted from the provisions of sections 578.005 to 578.023 and 273.030; 4 (2) Purposely or intentionally causes injury or suffering to an animal; or 5 (3) Having ownership or custody of an animal knowingly fails to provide adequate 6 care which results in substantial harm to the animal. 7 2. Animal abuse is a class A misdemeanor, unless the defendant has previously been 8 found guilty of animal abuse [or], the suffering involved in subdivision (2) of subsection 1 of 9 this section is the result of torture or mutilation [consciously] inflicted while the animal was 10 alive, or the harm involved in subdivision (3) of subsection 1 of this section is the result 11 of starvation, in which case it is a class E felony. ✔
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
Statutes affected: