Relates to orders of protection with respect to companion animals; provides further protection for pets by authorizing the court to order a party to either relinquish a pet or to refrain from any contact with a pet.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5815
SPONSOR: Rosenthal TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the family court act, the criminal procedure law and the
domestic relations law, in relation to an order of protection with
respect to companion animals
PURPOSE:
This bill extends protections to the pets of victims of domestic abuse
by giving the court discretion to forbid contact between the abuser and
any pet that is cared for by the victim.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one amends section 352.3 of the family court act to give the
court discretion to order the respondent to give up custody of a compan-
ion animal they own and allow the petitioner or another designated party
to maintain custody of the companion animal. It also gives the court
discretion to forbid any contact between the respondent and any compan-
ion animal belonging to either party or a minor child residing in the
household, or a designated party with custody of said animal.
Section two amends section 446 of the family court act by adding the
same provisions as section one of this bill.
Section three amends section 551 of the family court act by adding the
same provisions as section one of this bill.
Section four amends section 656 of the family court act by adding the
same provisions as section 1 of this bill.
Section five amends section 759 of the family court act by adding the
same provisions as section 1 of this bill.
Section six amends section 842 of the family court act by adding the
same provisions as section 1 of this bill.
Section seven amends section 1056 of the family court act by adding the
same provisions as section 1 of this bill.
Section eight amends section 530.12 of the criminal procedure law by
adding the same provisions as section 1 of this bill.
Section nine amends section 530.13 of the criminal procedure law by
adding similar provisions to section 1 of this bill. The provision where
the respondent may be required to give up custody of any pet they own
was not included because this section of law does not deal with "members
of the same family or household," as defined in section 530.11 of the
criminal procedure law.
Section ten amends section 240 of the domestic relations law by adding
the same provisions as section 1 of this bill.
Section eleven amends section 252 of the domestic relations law by
adding the same provisions as section 1 of this bill.
Section twelve sets forth the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Study after study has linked domestic abuse with animal abuse. A study
by the American Humane Association found that 71% of pet-owning women
entering women's shelters reported that their batterer had injured,
maimed, killed or threatened family pets for revenge or to psychologi-
cally control their victim. The fact is, the people who are capable of
harming their significant others are almost certainly capable of harming
their pets. Unfortunately, many abusers can hold this over their
victims. According to the Urban Resource Institute, 48% of victims of
domestic violence do not leave their abuser because they fear what would
happen to their pet. This bill seeks to empower those who desperately
need to get away from their abuser, but are too selfless and concerned
that they will have to leave their pet behind.
Currently, orders of protection only prohibit the respondent from inten-
tionally injuring or killing a pet belonging to the petitioner or a
minor child in their household. Knowing that the petitioner has violated
the order of protection would serve little comfort in the tragic event
that someone lost their pet. For this reason, more needs to be done to
prevent that from happening by giving the court discretion to forbid any
contact between the respondent and the pet. Furthermore, it is imper-
ative that the court has the discretion when issuing the order of
protection to extend it so that it explicitly covers not only pets owned
by the victim or a minor child in the household, but also any pets that
may be legally owned by the abuser but in practice are shared with the
victim. People can easily grow attached to the pets of their significant
others, and a pet owned by their partner would certainly be a concern of
theirs when considering leaving an abusive relationship, regardless of
who legally owns the pet. States such as California, New Jersey, Ohio,
Massachusetts, and many others have already recognized the need for such
provisions. The American Humane Association found that 98% of Americans
consider their pet to be a part of their family, and victims of violence
should not be forced to abandon a part of their family in order to
escape their abuser.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: A.39 - Referred to Judiciary; S.5309 - Referred to Children and
Families
2021-22: A.510 - Referred to Judiciary; S.3039- Referred to Children and
Families
2019-20: A.767 - Referred to Judiciary; S.1251 - Advanced to Third Read-
ing
2017-18: A.668-A - Referred to Judiciary; S.2167-A - Passed Senate
2015-16: A.10661 - Referred to Judiciary; S.7394-A - Passed Senate
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This bill shall take effect immediately.
