1. Combatting ANIMAL abuse and neglect: 2019 legislative update
Patrick K Harrington
Tippecanoe County Prosecutor

2. 2019 legislative goals Focus on key legislative needs
Focus on enlisting key legislator’s support
Build network of supporters to assist in passing legislation
tracking purposed bills
testifying at committee hearings
2019 legislative goals

3. Senate bill 474 Author Sen. Ron Alting Lafayette
SB 474 –”As a condition of probation or parole after conviction for an animal abuse offense, the court SHALL prohibit the convicted person from owning, harboring, or training a companion animal”

4. Companion animal defined as “cat or dog” that is not a service animal
SB 474

5. Sb 474 Senate Committee Hearing-multiple persons testified in support
Passed Senate 49-0
3/28/19- House Committee Hearing- voted unanimously as a “do pass”
4/02/19 –Passed House 90-0
Next step, Governor signs into law

6. Sb 474
Tippecanoe County testified in the last 13 convicted animal abuse offenders, only 8 of said cases did the court as a condition of probation prohibit the offender from owning, harboring, or training a companion animal.
No order entered in 5 cases
Prosecutor’s office requested this in all 13 cases

7. Sb 474 The five cases included the following:
Offender severely burned a dog with a hair dryer
Offender shot neighbor’s dog with a rifle
Offender convicted of bestiality involving two dogs
Offender shot and killed neighbors cat
Offender killed his ex-girlfriend’s two cats –left a note- ”you loved them more than me”
Sb 474

8. House bill 1615 sponsor representative ryan hatfield, Indianapolis
HB 1615-Animal Abuse
Bill in original form increased criminal penalties, defined humane euthanasia, and redefined certain actions as criminal
Passed House 81-13
Multiple organizations and individuals testified in support

9. HB 1615 Rough start in Senate Removed all criminal penalty increases
Added the following in Criminal Code Domestic or Family Violence section:
Improved definition of abuse to “knowingly or intentionally beat, torment, injure, or otherwise harm an animal”
This definition should help in criminal prosecution

10. Hb 1615 Amends definitions in criminal code
Amends torture definition to include destroying an animal by electrocution, (does not apply to farm management practices, laboratories or licensed research facility, or university)
or intentionally freezing or heat an animal to death

11. HB 1615
If passes Senate, then to a joint conference committee as the Senate removed the penalty language from the House bill
The author, Rep. Hatfield, can accept the Senate language, or ask for different language (we have asked him to insert language for an increased penalty for multiple animal cases)
or refuse to accept the Senate language and his bill “dies”

12. HB 1615
Update Senator Glick added language making it a Class A misdemeanor for a “person to knowingly or intentionally destroy an animal using carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, or any nonanesthetic inhalant at:
A humane society
An animal control agency or
A governmental entity operating an animal shelter or other animal impounding facility

13. 2020 goals
Increase penalty for animal offenses involving multiple animals
Consecutive sentences for multiple animals

14. Questions Ideas
What legislative ideas or concerns to you have?

15. Contact information
Patrick Harrington
Tippecanoe County Prosecutor

16. BAILEY AND TUCKER