(a) For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
(1) “Boarding kennel.” Has the same meaning as in R.C. § 956.01.
(2) “Captive white-tailed deer.” Has the same meaning as in R.C. § 1531.01.
(3) “Companion animal.” Any animal that is kept inside a residential dwelling and any dog or cat regardless of where it is kept, including a pet store as defined in R.C. § 956.01. “Companion animal” does not include livestock or any wild animal.
(4) “Cruelty.” Has the same meaning as in R.C. § 1717.01.
(5) “Dog kennel.” Means an animal rescue for dogs that is registered under R.C. § 956.06, a boarding kennel, or a training kennel.
(6) “Federal Animal Welfare Act.” The “Laboratory Animal Act of 1966", Pub. L. No. 89-544, 80 Stat. 350 (1966), 7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq., as amended by the “Animal Welfare Act of 1970", Pub. L. No. 91-579, 84 Stat. 1560 (1970), the “Animal Welfare Act Amendments of 1976", Pub. L. No. 94-279, 90 Stat. 417 (1976), and the “Food Security Act of 1985", Pub. L. No. 99-198, 99 Stat. 1354 (1985), and as it may be subsequently amended.
(7) “Livestock.” Means horses, mules, and other equidae; cattle, sheep, goats, and other bovidae; swine and other suidae; poultry; alpacas; llamas; captive white-tailed deer; and any other animal that is raised or maintained domestically for food or fiber.
(8) “Practice of veterinary medicine.” Has the same meaning as in R.C. § 4741.01.
(9) “Residential dwelling.” A structure or shelter or the portion of a structure or shelter that is used by one or more humans for the purpose of a habitation.
(10) “Serious physical harm.” Means any of the following:
A. Physical harm that carries an unnecessary or unjustifiable substantial risk of death;
B. Physical harm that involves either partial or total permanent incapacity;
C. Physical harm that involves acute pain of a duration that results in substantial suffering or that involves any degree of prolonged or intractable pain;
D. Physical harm that results from a person who confines or who is the custodian or caretaker of a companion animal depriving the companion animal of good, wholesome food and water that proximately causes the death of the companion animal.
(11) “Torment.” Has the same meaning as in R.C. § 1717.01.
(12) “Torture.” Has the same meaning as in R.C. § 1717.01.
(13) “Training kennel.” Means an establishment operating for profit that keeps, houses, and maintains dogs for the purpose of training the dogs in return for a fee or other consideration.
(14) “Wild animal.” Has the same meaning as in R.C. § 1531.01.
(b) No person shall knowingly torture, torment, needlessly mutilate or maim, cruelly beat, poison, needlessly kill or commit an act of cruelty against a companion animal.
(c) No person shall knowingly cause serious physical harm to a companion animal.
(d) No person who confines or who is the custodian or caretaker of a companion animal shall negligently do any of the following:
(1) Torture, torment, or commit an act of cruelty against the companion animal;
(2) Deprive the companion animal of necessary sustenance or confine the companion animal without supplying it during the confinement with sufficient quantities of good, wholesome food and water if it can reasonably be expected that the companion animal would become sick or suffer in any other way as a result of or due to the deprivation or confinement;
(3) Impound or confine the companion animal without affording it, during the impoundment or confinement, with access to shelter from heat, cold, wind, rain, snow, or excessive direct sunlight if it can reasonably be expected that the companion animal would become sick or suffer in any other way as a result of or due to the lack of adequate shelter.
(e) No owner, manager, or employee of a dog kennel who confines or is the custodian or caretaker of a companion animal shall knowingly do any of the following:
(1) Torture, torment, needlessly mutilate or maim, cruelly beat, poison, needlessly kill, or commit an act of cruelty against the companion animal;
(2) Deprive the companion animal of necessary sustenance or confine the companion animal without supplying it during the confinement with sufficient quantities of good, wholesome food and water if it is reasonably expected that the companion animal would die or experience unnecessary or unjustifiable pain or suffering as a result of the deprivation or confinement;
(3) Impound or confine the companion animal without affording it, during the impoundment or confinement, with access to shelter from heat, cold, wind, rain, snow, or excessive direct sunlight if it is reasonably expected that the companion animal would die or experience unnecessary or unjustifiable pain or suffering as a result of or due to the lack of adequate shelter.
(f) No owner, manager, or employee of a dog kennel who confines or is the custodian or caretaker of a companion animal shall negligently do any of the following:
(1) Torture, torment, or commit an act of cruelty against the companion animal;
(2) Deprive the companion animal of necessary sustenance or confine the companion animal without supplying it during the confinement with sufficient quantities of good, wholesome food and water if it can reasonably be expected that the companion animal would become sick or suffer in any other way as a result of or due to the deprivation or confinement;
(3) Impound or confine the companion animal without affording it, during the impoundment or confinement, with access to shelter from heat, cold, wind, rain, snow, or excessive direct sunlight if it can reasonably be expected that the companion animal would become sick or suffer in any other way as a result of or due to the lack of adequate shelter.
(g) Subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), and (f) of this section do not apply to any of the following:
(1) A companion animal used in scientific research conducted by an institution in accordance with the federal animal welfare act and related regulations;
(2) The lawful practice of veterinary medicine by a person who has been issued a license, temporary permit, or registration certificate to do so under Ohio R.C. Chapter 4741;
(3) Dogs being used or intended for use for hunting or field trial purposes, provided that the dogs are being treated in accordance with usual and commonly accepted practices for the care of hunting dogs;
(4) The use of common training devices, if the companion animal is being treated in accordance with usual and commonly accepted practices for the training of animals;
(5) The administering of medicine to a companion animal that was properly prescribed by a person who has been issued a license, temporary permit, or registration certificate under Ohio R.C. Chapter 4741.
(h) Notwithstanding any section of the Ohio Revised Code that otherwise provides for the distribution of fine moneys, the Clerk of Court shall forward all fines the Clerk collects that are so imposed for any violation of this section to the Treasurer of the municipality, whose county humane society or law enforcement agency is to be paid the fine money as determined under this division. The Treasurer shall pay the fine moneys to the county humane society or the county, township, municipal corporation, or state law enforcement agency in this state that primarily was responsible for or involved in the investigation and prosecution of the violation. If a county humane society receives any fine moneys under this division, the county humane society shall use the fine moneys either to provide the training that is required for humane agents under section Ohio R.C. 1717.06 or to provide additional training for humane agents.
(ORC 959.131)
(i) (1) Whoever violates division (b) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree on a first offense and a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate state law on each subsequent offense.
(2) Whoever violates division (c) of this section is guilty of a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate state law.
(3) Whoever violates division (d) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree on a first offense and a misdemeanor of the first degree on each subsequent offense.
(4) Whoever violates division (e) of this section is guilty of a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate state law.
(5) Whoever violates division (f) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(6) A. A court may order a person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of this section to forfeit to an impounding agency, as defined in R.C. § 959.132, any or all of the companion animals in that person’s ownership or care. The court also may prohibit or place limitations on the person’s ability to own or care for any companion animals for a specified or indefinite period of time.
B. A court may order a person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of this section to reimburse an impounding agency for the reasonably necessary costs incurred by the agency for the care of a companion animal that the agency impounded as a result of the investigation or prosecution of the violation, provided that the costs were not otherwise paid under R.C. § 959.132.
(7) If a court has reason to believe that a person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of this section suffers from a mental or emotional disorder that contributed to the violation, the court may impose as a community control sanction or as a condition of probation a requirement that the offender undergo psychological evaluation or counseling. The court shall order the offender to pay the costs of the evaluation or counseling.
(R.C. § 959.99(E))
Statutory reference:
Impoundment of companion animals; notice and hearing, see R.C. § 959.132