Bill > SB201

This bill creates a felony offense for cruelty to animals in West Virginia, defining various acts of cruelty as felonies, including causing serious bodily injury or death to a domestic animal, failing to end an animal's suffering, abandoning a domestic animal to die without veterinary care, or leaving a domestic animal unattended in a vehicle resulting in its death, with penalties including fines and imprisonment. It also clarifies and modifies existing provisions regarding animal mistreatment, abandonment, withholding care, and the use of drugs to alter animal performance, distinguishing between misdemeanors and felonies based on the intent and severity of the act, and provides specific definitions for terms like "animal," "domestic animal," "serious bodily injury," and "torture" to ensure clarity in the law. The bill also outlines exclusions from these provisions, such as lawful hunting, farming practices, and the humane use of animals regulated by federal law, and introduces mandatory psychiatric evaluations for those convicted of certain animal cruelty offenses, along with the possibility of prohibiting convicted individuals from owning animals for extended periods.

Justice

http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/Bills_history.cfm?input=201&year=2026&sessiontype=RS&btype=bill