Texas Penal Code 42.092 – Cruelty to Nonlivestock Animals

WHAT IS CRUELTY TO NONLIVESTOCK ANIMALS IN TEXAS?

The Texas law against cruelty to non-livestock animals prohibits intentionally or knowingly mistreating domesticated living creatures such as cats, dogs, including feral and stray living creatures or previously captured wild animals.

• What are examples of cruelty to non-livestock animals in Texas? Texas Penal Code Section 42.092 specifies types of conduct constituting cruelty to non-livestock animals. A person commits animal cruelty by:

• • torturing an animal, or killing or causing serious bodily injury to an animal in a cruel manner;
  • killing, poisoning, or causing serious bodily injury to an animal without the owner’s consent;
  • failing to provide food, water, care, or shelter for an animal in the person’s custody;
  • abandoning an animal in the person’s custody;
  • transporting or confining an animal in a cruel manner;
  • causing bodily injury to an animal without the owner’s consent;
  • causing an animal to fight another animal, except dog fighting;
  • using a live animal as a lure in dog race training or dog coursing on a racetrack;
  • seriously overworking an animal.

WHAT IS THE CRUELTY TO NONLIVESTOCK ANIMALS LAW IN TEXAS?

Tex. Penal Code § 42.092. CRUELTY TO NONLIVESTOCK ANIMALS.

(b) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly:

(1) tortures an animal or in a cruel manner kills or causes serious bodily injury to an animal;

(2) without the owner’s effective consent, kills, administers poison to, or causes serious bodily injury to an animal;

(3) fails unreasonably to provide necessary food, water, care, or shelter for an animal in the person’s custody;

(4) abandons unreasonably an animal in the person’s custody;

(5) transports or confines an animal in a cruel manner;

(6) without the owner’s effective consent, causes bodily injury to an animal;

(7) causes one animal to fight with another animal, if either animal is not a dog;

(8) uses a live animal as a lure in dog race training or in dog coursing on a racetrack; or

(9) seriously overworks an animal.

(c) An offense under Subsection (b)(3), (4), (5), (6), or (9) is a Class A misdemeanor, except that the offense is a state jail felony if the person has previously been convicted two times under this section, two times under Section 42.09, or one time under this section and one time under Section 42.09.

(c-1) An offense under Subsection (b)(1) or (2) is a felony of the third degree, except that the offense is a felony of the second degree if the person has previously been convicted under Subsection (b)(1), (2), (7), or (8) or under Section 42.09.

(c-2) An offense under Subsection (b)(7) or (8) is a state jail felony, except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if the person has previously been convicted under this section or under Section 42.09.

(d) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that:

(1) the actor had a reasonable fear of bodily injury to the actor or to another person by a dangerous wild animal as defined by Section 822.101, Health and Safety Code; or

(2) the actor was engaged in bona fide experimentation for scientific research.

(e) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (b)(2) or (6) that:

(1) the animal was discovered on the person’s property in the act of or after injuring or killing the person’s livestock animals or damaging the person’s crops and that the person killed or injured the animal at the time of this discovery; or

(2) the person killed or injured the animal within the scope of the person’s employment as a public servant or in furtherance of activities or operations associated with electricity transmission or distribution, electricity generation or operations associated with the generation of electricity, or natural gas delivery.

(f) It is an exception to the application of this section that the conduct engaged in by the actor is a generally accepted and otherwise lawful:

(1) form of conduct occurring solely for the purpose of or in support of:

(A) fishing, hunting, or trapping; or

(B) wildlife management, wildlife or depredation control, or shooting preserve practices as regulated by state and federal law; or

(2) animal husbandry or agriculture practice involving livestock animals.

(g) This section does not create a civil cause of action for damages or enforcement of the section.

WHAT IS THE PENALTY CLASS FOR CRUELTY TO NONLIVESTOCK ANIMALS IN TEXAS?

The penalty classification for cruelty to animals depends on the severity of the conduct, and whether the accused has been previously convicted of animal cruelty.

• Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in county jail, if the person has no prior convictions, and committed the offense by:
  • failing to provide necessary food, water, or care for an animal in the person’s custody;
  • abandoning an animal in the person’s custody;
  • transporting or confining an animal in a cruel manner;
  • causing bodily injury to an animal without the owner’s consent; or
  • seriously overworking an animal;
• State jail felony, punishable by 180 days to two years in a state jail facility, if:
  • the person commits a Class A misdemeanor animal cruelty, and has two prior animal cruelty convictions; or
  • the person commits animal cruelty by:
    • causing an animal to fight another; or
    • using a live animal as a lure in dog race training or dog coursing on a racetrack;
• Third degree felony, punishable by two to ten years in prison, if:
  • the person tortures, kills, or causes serious bodily injury to an animal in a cruel manner, or poisons the animal without the owner’s consent; or
  • the person has one prior animal cruelty conviction, and commits the offense by:
    • causing an animal to fight another; or
    • using a live animal as a lure in dog race training or dog coursing on a racetrack;
• Second degree felony, punishable by two to 20 years in prison, if:
  • the person tortures, kills, or causes serious bodily injury to an animal in a cruel manner, or poisons the animal without the owner’s consent; and
  • has a prior conviction for cruelty to a livestock animal, or animal cruelty committed by torturing, killing, causing serious bodily injury in a cruel manner, poisoning without the owner’s consent, causing an animal to fight another, or using a live animal as a lure on a dog racetrack.

WHAT IS THE PUNISHMENT RANGE FOR CRUELTY TO NONLIVESTOCK ANIMALS IN TEXAS?

The punishment range for animal cruelty corresponds to the penalty classification, as determined by the person’s conduct and whether the person has prior animal cruelty convictions.

• Second degree felony: two to 20 years in prison, maximum $10,000 fine;
• Third degree felony: two to ten years in prison, maximum $10,000 fine;
• State jail felony: 180 days to two years in prison, maximum $10,000 fine;
• Class A misdemeanor: up to one year in jail, maximum $4,000 fine.

WHAT ARE THE PENALTIES FOR CRUELTY TO NONLIVESTOCK ANIMALS IN TEXAS?

A person charged with cruelty to non-livestock animals may be eligible for probation after a conviction, or deferred adjudication without a conviction. The ranges of community supervision depend on the penalty classification:

• Class A misdemeanor: community supervision for up to two years;
• State jail felony: community supervision for between two and five years, with the possibility of extending supervision for up to ten years;
• Third degree felony and second degree felony: community supervision for up to ten years.

A judge may order up to 30 days’ confinement in jail as a condition of misdemeanor community supervision, and up to 180 days in jail as a condition of felony community supervision.

• What are probation conditions for animal cruelty in Texas?

Texas Code of Criminal Procedure article 42A.511 permits a judge to order a person on community supervision for animal cruelty to relinquish custody of all animals, complete psychological counseling, and the judge may prohibit the person from possessing or owning animals.

WHAT ARE THE DEFENSES TO CRUELTY TO NONLIVESTOCK ANIMALS IN TEXAS?

A person accused of cruelty to non-livestock animals may assert any of the statutory defenses, exceptions, or attempt to negate at least one of the elements the State must prove at trial. One such statutory defense exists for people engaged in “bona fide experimentation” for scientific research.

• Can police who kill an animal be charged with animal cruelty in Texas? Not under most circumstances, if their defense fits the statutory requirements. The Texas law against animal cruelty authorizes a defense if the person was a public servant, or employed in the business of electricity transmission, distribution, or generation, or natural gas delivery, and the person killed or injured the animal within the scope of their employment or in furtherance of their duties.

• Is hunting animal cruelty in Texas? No, as long as the person was legally hunting in a generally accepted form. The Texas cruelty to livestock statute contains an exception for a person whose conduct is a generally accepted and otherwise lawful form of conduct for the sole purpose of or in support of: (1) fishing, hunting, or trapping; (2) wildlife management, wildlife or depredation control, or shooting preserve practices; or (3) animal husbandry or agriculture practice involving livestock animals.

• Can you kill an animal in self-defense in Texas? Yes. The animal cruelty statute permits a defense if a person kills or injures a non-livestock animal who was discovered on the person’s property damaging the person’s crops, or killing the person’s livestock animals. A person may also raise a statutory defense to cruelty against a dangerous wild animal if the person reasonably feared bodily injury to himself or another.Texas Health and Safety Code Section 822.013 permits a person to kill a dog or coyote that attacks livestock or other domesticated animals if the person sees the attack.

WHAT IS THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR CRUELTY TO NONLIVESTOCK ANIMALS IN TEXAS?

The limitation period for cruelty to non-livestock animals punishable as a misdemeanor is two years. For animal cruelty categorized as a felony, the limitation period is three years.

CRUELTY TO NONLIVESTOCK ANIMALS IN TEXAS

Texas law punishes acts of cruelty committed against any living creature without just cause. Animal cruelty committed against a domesticated animal, such as a dog or cat, regardless of whether the animal has an owner or is a stray, is a crime in Texas.

TEXAS CRUELTY TO NONLIVESTOCK ANIMALS COURT CASES

The case law regarding cruelty to non-livestock animals in Texas shows the application of certain defenses.

• In Chase v. State, the defendant was walking his two dogs, when a neighbor’s pitbull escaped and attacked his dog. He separated the neighbor’s dog from his own, took the neighbor’s dog to his yard, and slashed its throat with a knife.The defendant was convicted of animal cruelty for killing the dog, and argued on appeal he was entitled to kill the dog under Texas Health and Safety Code Section 822.013. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals agreed the defendant raised the defense to protect his own domestic animal, so the instruction should have been included. Conviction reversed, and case remanded.