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.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5815
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 20, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Judiciary
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
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 352.3 of the family court act, as
2 amended by chapter 261 of the laws of 2020, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 (1) Upon the issuance of an order pursuant to section 315.3 or the
5 entry of an order of disposition pursuant to section 352.2, a court may
6 enter an order of protection against any respondent for good cause
7 shown. The order may require that the respondent: (a) stay away from the
8 home, school, business or place of employment of the victims of the
9 alleged offense; or (b) refrain from harassing, intimidating, threaten-
10 ing or otherwise interfering with the victim or victims of the alleged
11 offense and such members of the family or household of such victim or
12 victims as shall be specifically named by the court in such order; or
13 (c) refrain from intentionally injuring or killing, without justifica-
14 tion, any companion animal the respondent knows to be owned, possessed,
15 leased, kept or held by the [person protected by the order] petitioner
16 or a minor child residing in [such person's] the petitioner's or
17 respondent's household; or (d) refrain from remotely controlling any
18 connected devices affecting the home, vehicle or property of the person
19 protected by the order. Such order may also grant the petitioner the
20 exclusive care, custody or control of any animal that is owned,
21 possessed, leased, kept or held by the petitioner, the respondent or a
22 minor child residing in the residence or household of the petitioner or
23 respondent, and order the respondent to stay away from the animal and
24 forbid the respondent from taking, transferring, concealing, harming, or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00650-01-5
A. 5815 2
1 otherwise disposing of the animal. "Companion animal", as used in this
2 subdivision, shall have the same meaning as in subdivision five of
3 section three hundred fifty of the agriculture and markets law.
4 "Connected device", as used in this subdivision, shall mean any device,
5 or other physical object that is capable of connecting to the internet,
6 directly or indirectly, and that is assigned an internet protocol
7 address or bluetooth address.
8 § 2. Paragraph 1 of subdivision (h) of section 446 of the family court
9 act, as amended by chapter 526 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read
10 as follows:
11 1. to refrain from intentionally injuring or killing, without justi-
12 fication, any companion animal the respondent knows to be owned,
13 possessed, leased, kept or held by the [person protected by the order]
14 petitioner or a minor child residing in [such person's] the petitioner's
15 or respondent's household. Such order may also grant the petitioner the
16 exclusive care, custody or control of any animal that is owned,
17 possessed, leased, kept or held by the petitioner, the respondent or a
18 minor child residing in the residence or household of the petitioner or
19 the respondent, and order the respondent to stay away from the animal
20 and forbid the respondent from taking, transferring, concealing, harm-
21 ing, or otherwise disposing of the animal.
22 § 3. Paragraph 1 of subdivision (i) of section 551 of the family court
23 act, as amended by chapter 526 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read
24 as follows:
25 1. to refrain from intentionally injuring or killing, without justi-
26 fication, any companion animal the respondent knows to be owned,
27 possessed, leased, kept or held by the [person protected by the order]
28 petitioner or a minor child residing in [such person's] the petitioner's
29 or respondent's household. Such order may also grant the petitioner the
30 exclusive care, custody or control of any animal that is owned,
31 possessed, leased, kept or held by the petitioner, the respondent or a
32 minor child residing in the residence or household of the petitioner or
33 the respondent, and order the respondent to stay away from the animal
34 and forbid the respondent from taking, transferring, concealing, harm-
35 ing, or otherwise disposing of the animal.
36 § 4. Paragraph 1 of subdivision (i) of section 656 of the family court
37 act, as amended by chapter 526 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read
38 as follows:
39 1. to refrain from intentionally injuring or killing, without justi-
40 fication, any companion animal the respondent knows to be owned,
41 possessed, leased, kept or held by the petitioner or a minor child
42 residing in the petitioner's or respondent's household. Such order may
43 also grant the petitioner the exclusive care, custody or control of any
44 animal that is owned, possessed, leased, kept or held by the petitioner,
45 the respondent or a minor child residing in the residence or household
46 of the petitioner or the respondent, and order the respondent to stay
47 away from the animal and forbid the respondent from taking, trans-
48 ferring, concealing, harming, or otherwise disposing of the animal.
49 § 5. Paragraph 1 of subdivision (h) of section 759 of the family court
50 act, as amended by chapter 261 of the laws of 2020, is amended to read
51 as follows:
52 1. to refrain from intentionally injuring or killing, without justi-
53 fication, any companion animal the respondent knows to be owned,
54 possessed, leased, kept or held by the [person protected by the order]
55 petitioner or a minor child residing in [such person's] the petitioner's
56 or respondent's household. Such order may also grant the petitioner the
A. 5815 3
1 exclusive care, custody or control of any animal that is owned,
2 possessed, leased, kept or held by the petitioner, the respondent or a
3 minor child residing in the residence or household of the petitioner or
4 the respondent, and order the respondent to stay away from the animal
5 and forbid the respondent from taking, transferring, concealing, harm-
6 ing, or otherwise disposing of the animal.
7 § 6. Paragraph 1 of subdivision (i) of section 842 of the family court
8 act, as amended by chapter 335 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read
9 as follows:
10 1. to refrain from intentionally injuring or killing, without justi-
11 fication, any companion animal the respondent knows to be owned,
12 possessed, leased, kept or held by the petitioner or a minor child
13 residing in the petitioner's or respondent's household. Such order may
14 also grant the petitioner the exclusive care, custody or control of any
15 animal that is owned, possessed, leased, kept or held by the petitioner,
16 the respondent or a minor child residing in the residence or household
17 of the petitioner or the respondent, and order the respondent to stay
18 away from the animal and forbid the respondent from taking, trans-
19 ferring, concealing, harming, or otherwise disposing of the animal.
20 § 7. Subparagraph 1 of paragraph (g) of subdivision 1 of section 1056
21 of the family court act, as amended by chapter 526 of the laws of 2013,
22 is amended to read as follows:
23 1. to refrain from intentionally injuring or killing, without justi-
24 fication, any companion animal the respondent knows to be owned,
25 possessed, leased, kept or held by the [person protected by the order]
26 petitioner or a minor child residing in [such person's] the petitioner's
27 or respondent's household. Such order may also grant the petitioner the
28 exclusive care, custody or control of any animal that is owned,
29 possessed, leased, kept or held by the petitioner, the respondent or a
30 minor child residing in the residence or household of the petitioner or
31 the respondent, and order the respondent to stay away from the animal
32 and forbid the respondent from taking, transferring, concealing, harm-
33 ing, or otherwise disposing of the animal.
34 § 8. Clause (A) of subparagraph 6 of paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of
35 section 530.12 of the criminal procedure law, as amended by chapter 526
36 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
37 (A) to refrain from intentionally injuring or killing, without justi-
38 fication, any companion animal the defendant knows to be owned,
39 possessed, leased, kept or held by the victim or a minor child residing
40 in the victim's or defendant's household. Such order may also grant the
41 victim the exclusive care, custody or control of any animal that is
42 owned, possessed, leased, kept or held by the victim, the defendant or a
43 minor child residing in the residence or household of the victim or the
44 defendant, and order the defendant to stay away from the animal and
45 forbid the defendant from taking, transferring, concealing, harming, or
46 otherwise disposing of the animal.
47 § 9. Subparagraph 1 of paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 of section
48 530.13 of the criminal procedure law, as amended by chapter 261 of the
49 laws of 2020, is amended to read as follows:
50 1. to refrain from intentionally injuring or killing, without justi-
51 fication, any companion animal the defendant knows to be owned,
52 possessed, leased, kept or held by such victim or victims or a minor
53 child residing in such victim's or victims' household. Such order may
54 also grant the victim the exclusive care, custody or control of any
55 animal that is owned, possessed, leased, kept or held by the victim, the
56 defendant or a minor child residing in the residence or household of the
A. 5815 4
1 victim or the defendant, and order the defendant to stay away from the
2 animal and forbid the defendant from taking, transferring, concealing,
3 harming, or otherwise disposing of the animal.
4 § 10. Subparagraph 7 of paragraph a of subdivision 3 of section 240 of
5 the domestic relations law, as amended by chapter 526 of the laws of
6 2013, is amended to read as follows:
7 (7) to refrain from intentionally injuring or killing, without justi-
8 fication, any companion animal the respondent knows to be owned,
9 possessed, leased, kept or held by the [person protected by the order]
10 petitioner or a minor child residing in [such person's] the petitioner's
11 or respondent's household. Such order may also grant the petitioner the
12 exclusive care, custody or control of any animal that is owned,
13 possessed, leased, kept or held by the petitioner, the respondent or a
14 minor child residing in the residence or household of the petitioner or
15 the respondent, and order the respondent to stay away from the animal
16 and forbid the respondent from taking, transferring, concealing, harm-
17 ing, or otherwise disposing of the animal. "Companion animal," as used
18 in this section, shall have the same meaning as in subdivision five of
19 section three hundred fifty of the agriculture and markets law;
20 § 11. Paragraph (g) of subdivision 1 of section 252 of the domestic
21 relations law, as amended by chapter 526 of the laws of 2013, is amended
22 to read as follows:
23 (g) to refrain from intentionally injuring or killing, without justi-
24 fication, any companion animal the respondent knows to be owned,
25 possessed, leased, kept or held by the [person protected by the order]
26 petitioner or a minor child residing in [such person's] the petitioner's
27 or respondent's household. Such order may also grant the petitioner the
28 exclusive care, custody or control of any animal that is owned,
29 possessed, leased, kept or held by the petitioner, the respondent or a
30 minor child residing in the residence or household of the petitioner or
31 the respondent, and order the respondent to stay away from the animal
32 and forbid the respondent from taking, transferring, concealing, harm-
33 ing, or otherwise disposing of the animal. "Companion animal," as used
34 in this section, shall have the same meaning as in subdivision five of
35 section three hundred fifty of the agriculture and markets law;
36 § 12. This act shall take effect immediately.
