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Kentucky · Snapshot 09/05/2026

KRS 246.420: Tampering with or sabotaging livestock prohibited -- Definitions for

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Where this section sits in the code
  1. KRS Chapter 246

section -- Applicability of KRS Chapter 512.

(1) No person shall tamper with any livestock.

(2) No person shall sabotage any livestock exhibited at an exhibition.

(3) This section shall not apply to:

(a) Any action taken or activity performed or administered by a licensed

veterinarian or in accordance with instructions of a licensed veterinarian if the

action or activity was undertaken for accepted medical purposes during the

course of a valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship; or

(b) Generally accepted grooming, commercial, or medical practices that are not

prohibited by any provision of the Kentucky Revised Statutes or any

administrative regulation promulgated thereunder.

(4) As used in this section:

(a) "Tamper" means any of the following:

1. Treatment of livestock in such a manner that food derived from the

livestock would be considered adulterated as defined in KRS 217.025;

2. The injection, use, or administration of any dru g that is prohibited under

any federal law or law of this state, or any drug that is used in any

manner that is not authorized under any federal law or law of this state.

Whenever the commissioner of the United States Food and Drug

Administration or the se cretary of the United States Department of

Agriculture, pursuant to the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as

amended, or federal Virus -Serum-Toxin Act, as amended, approves,

disapproves, or modifies the conditions of the approved use of a drug,

the app roval, disapproval, or modification shall automatically be

effective for the purposes of this section unless the Kentucky

Department of Agriculture adopts an administrative regulation to alter,

for the purposes of the section, the action taken by the commi ssioner or

secretary. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture may adopt an

administrative regulation if the department considers it to be necessary

or appropriate for the protection of food safety or the health, safety, or

welfare of livestock or to prevent the use of a drug for the purpose of

concealing, enhancing, transforming, or changing the true conformation,

configuration, or condition of livestock. No administrative regulation

shall authorize the use of any drug the use of which is prohibited by, or

authorize the use of any drug in a manner not authorized by, the

commissioner or secretary under either of those acts;

3. The injection or other internal or external administration of any product

or material, whether gas, solid, or liquid, to livestock for the purpose of

concealing, enhancing, transforming, or changing the true conformation,

configuration, condition, or age of the livestock or making the livestock

appear more sound than it actually is;

4. The use or administration, for cosmetic purposes, of steroids, growth

stimulants, or internal artificial filling, including paraffin, silicone

injection, or any other substance;

5. The use or administration of any drug or feed additive affecting the

central nervous system of the livestock;

6. The use or administration of diuretics for cosmetic purposes; and

7. The surgical manipulation or removal or tissue so as to change,

transform, or enhance the true conformation or configuration of, or to

conceal the age of, the livestock.

(b) "Sabotage" means intentionally tampering with any livestock belonging to or

owned by another person that has been registered, entered into, or exhibited in

any exhibition, or raised with the apparent intent of being entered into an

exhibition.

(5) Where a person violat es both the provisions of this section and a section of KRS

Chapter 512, the person may be prosecuted under the provisions of KRS Chapter

512.

Collected 2026-09-05T20:52:56Z. Source file · JSON

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