Many laws relating to animals govern the interaction between humans and animals. Some relate to public health and safety describing how a person should behave to ensure that their pet does not cause harm or injury to others in the community. Others prohibit certain types of conduct towards animals, often referred to as humane laws.

Below is an excerpt from NY State and City law regarding Humane treatment of animals.

§ 351. Prohibition of animal fighting

1. For purposes of this section, the term "animal fighting" shall mean any fight between cocks or other birds, or between dogs, bulls, bears or any other animals, or between any such animal and a person or persons, except in exhibitions of a kind commonly featured at rodeos.
2. Any person who engages in any of the following conduct is guilty of a felony and is punishable by imprisonment for a period not to exceed four years, or by a fine not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment:
(a) For amusement or gain, causes any animal to engage in animal fighting; or
(b) Trains any animal under circumstances evincing an intent that such animal engage in animal fighting for amusement or gain; or
(c) Permits any act described in paragraph (a) or (b) of this subdivision to occur on premises under his control; or
(d) Owns, possesses or keeps any animal trained to engage in animal fighting on premises where an exhibition of animal fighting is being conducted under circumstances evincing an intent that such animal engage in animal fighting.
3. (a) Any person who engages in conduct specified in paragraph (b) of this subdivision is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable by imprisonment for a period not to exceed one year, or by a fine not to exceed fifteen thousand dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(b) The owning, possessing or keeping of any animal under circumstances evincing an intent that such animal engage in animal fighting.
4. (a) Any person who engages in conduct specified in paragraph (b) hereof is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable by imprisonment for a period not to exceed one year, or by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(b) The knowing presence as a spectator having paid an admission fee or having made a wager at any place where an exhibition of animal fighting is being conducted.

§ 353. Overdriving, torturing and injuring animals; failure to provide proper sustenance

A person who overdrives, overloads, tortures or cruelly beats or unjustifiably injures, maims, mutilates or kills any animal, whether wild or tame, and whether belonging to himself or to another, or deprives any animal of necessary sustenance, food or drink, or neglects or refuses to furnish it such sustenance or drink, or causes, procures or permits any animal to be overdriven, overloaded, tortured, cruelly beaten, or unjustifiably injured, maimed, mutilated or killed, or to be deprived of necessary food or drink, or who wilfully sets on foot, instigates, engages in, or in any way furthers any act of cruelty to any animal, or any act tending to produce such cruelty, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, or by both.

Nothing herein contained shall be construed to prohibit or interfere with any properly conducted scientific tests, experiments or investigations, involving the use of living animals, performed or conducted in laboratories or institutions, which are approved for these purposes by the state commissioner of health. The state commissioner of health shall prescribe the rules under which such approvals shall be granted, including therein standards regarding the care and treatment of any such animals. Such rules shall be published and copies thereof conspicuously posted in each such laboratory or institution. The state commissioner of health or his duly authorized representative shall have the power to inspect such laboratories or institutions to insure compliance with such rules and standards. Each such approval may be revoked at any time for failure to comply with such rules and in any case the approval shall be limited to a period not exceeding one year.

§ 353-a. Aggravated cruelty to animals

1. A person is guilty of aggravated cruelty to animals when, with no justifiable purpose, he or she intentionally kills or intentionally causes serious physical injury to a companion animal with aggravated cruelty. For purposes of this section, "aggravated cruelty" shall mean conduct which: (i) is intended to cause extreme physical pain; or (ii) is done or carried out in an especially depraved or sadistic manner.
2. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit or interfere in any way with anyone lawfully engaged in hunting, trapping, or fishing, as provided in article eleven of the environmental conservation law, the dispatch of rabid or diseased animals, as provided in article twenty-one of the public health law, or the dispatch of animals posing a threat to human safety or other animals, where such action is otherwise legally authorized, or any properly conducted scientific tests, experiments, or investigations involving the use of living animals, performed or conducted in laboratories or institutions approved for such purposes by the commissioner of health pursuant to section three hundred fifty-three of this article.
3. Aggravated cruelty to animals is a felony. A defendant convicted of this offense shall be sentenced pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section 55.10 of the penal law provided, however, that any term of imprisonment imposed for violation of this section shall be a definite sentence, which may not exceed two years.

§ 354. Sale of baby chicks and baby rabbits

1. No person shall sell, offer for sale, barter or give away living baby chicks, ducklings or other fowl or baby rabbits unless such person provides proper brooder facilities where appropriate for the care of such baby chicks, ducklings or other fowl or baby rabbits during the time they are in the possession of such person. For the purposes of this section, a baby rabbit shall be a rabbit of less than two months of age.
2. No person shall sell, offer for sale, barter or display living baby chicks, ducklings or other fowl or baby rabbits which have been dyed, colored or otherwise treated so as to impart to them an artificial color.
2-a. No provision of subdivision two shall be interpreted or applied to prevent or restrict teachers and qualified instructors of youth under the guidance and supervision of the New York state cooperative extension service from using eggs for non-profit educational purposes or from observing fowl hatched from such eggs for non-profit educational purposes.
3. No person shall sell, offer for sale, barter or give away living baby chicks, ducklings or other fowl or baby rabbits under two months of age in any quantity less than six.
4. A violation of the provisions of this section is a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, or by both.

§ 331. Abandonment of certain animals

An animal is deemed to be abandoned when it is placed in the custody of a veterinarian, veterinary hospital, boarding kennel owner or operator, stable owner or operator, or any other person for treatment, board, or care and:
1. Having been placed in such custody for a specified period of time the animal is not removed at the end of such specified period and a notice to remove the animal within ten days thereafter has been given to the person who placed the animal in such custody, by means of registered letter mailed to the last known address of such person, or:
2. Having been placed in such custody for an unspecified period of time the animal is not removed within twenty days after notice to remove the animal has been given to the person who placed the animal in such custody, by means of a registered letter mailed to the last known address of such person.
3. The giving of notice as prescribed in this section shall be deemed a waiver of any lien on the animal for the treatment, board or care of the animal but shall not relieve the owner of the animal removed of his contractual liability for such treatment, board or care furnished.

§ 360. Poisoning or attempting to poison animals

A person who unjustifiably administers any poisonous or noxious drug or substance to a horse, mule or domestic cattle or unjustifiably exposes any such drug or substance with intent that the same shall be taken by horse, mule or by domestic cattle, whether such horse, mule or domestic cattle be the property of himself or another, is guilty of a felony. A person who unjustifiably administers any poisonous or noxious drug or substance to an animal, other than a horse, mule or domestic cattle, or unjustifiably exposes any such drug or substance with intent that the same shall be taken by an animal other than a horse, mule or domestic cattle, whether such animal be the property of himself or another, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, or by both.

§ 362. Throwing substance injurious to animals in public place

A person who wilfully throws, drops or places, or causes to be thrown, dropped or placed upon any road, highway, street or public place, any glass, nails, pieces of metal, or other substance which might wound, disable or injure any animal is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, or by both.

§ 363. Unauthorized possession of dogs presumptive evidence of larceny

The unauthorized possession of a dog or dogs, by any person not the true owner, for a period exceeding ten days, without notifying either the owner, the local police authorities, or the superintendent of the state police at Albany, New York, of such possession, shall be presumptive evidence of larceny.

§ 365. Clipping or cutting the ears of dogs

1. Whoever clips or cuts off or causes or procures another to clip or cut off the whole or any part of an ear of any dog unless an anaesthetic shall have been given to the dog and the operation performed by a licensed veterinarian, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for not more than one year, or a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, or by both.
2. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any dog or person who is the owner or possessor of any dog whose ear or a part thereof has been clipped or cut off prior to September first, nineteen hundred twenty-nine.
3. Each applicant for a dog license must state on such application whether any ear of the dog for which he applies for such license has been cut off wholly or in part.
4. Nothing herein contained shall be construed as preventing any dog whose ear or ears shall have been clipped or cut off wholly or in part, not in violation of this section, from being imported into the state exclusively for breeding purposes.

§ 366. Dog stealing

It shall be unlawful for any person:
1. To remove or cause to be removed the collar, identification tag or any other identification by which the owner may be ascertained from any dog, cat or any other domestic animal as defined in subdivision seven of section one hundred eight of this chapter, or to entice any identified dog, cat or other such domestic animal into or out of any house or enclosure for the purpose of removing its collar, tag or any other identification, except with the owner's permission;
2. To entice, seize or molest any dog, while it is being held or led by any person or while it is properly muzzled or wearing a collar with an identification tag attached, except where such action is incidental to the enforcement of some law or regulation;
3. To transport any dog, not lawfully in his possession, for the purpose of killing or selling such dog.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this section, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not to exceed six months, or by both.

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