77-1A-6: Prohibited acts; penalties.

A. It is unlawful for an owner of a dangerous or potentially dangerous dog to:

(1) keep the dog without a valid certificate of registration;

(2) violate the registration and handling requirements for the dog;

(3) fail to notify the animal control authority immediately upon:

(a) the escape of the dog; or

(b) an attack by the dog upon a human being or a domestic animal;

(4) fail to notify the animal control authority of the dog's death within five business days;

(5) fail to notify the animal control authority within twenty-four hours if the dog has been sold or given away and provide the name, address and telephone number of the new owner of the dog;

(6) fail to surrender the dog to an animal control authority for safe confinement pending a determination of the case when there is reason to believe that the dog poses an imminent threat to public safety; or

(7) fail to comply with special handling or care requirements for the dog that a court has ordered.

B. Whoever violates a provision of Subsection A of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be sentenced in accordance with the provisions of Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978 and, for a second or subsequent offense, is guilty of a fourth degree felony and shall be sentenced in accordance with the provisions of Section 31-18-15 NMSA 1978.

C. An owner of a dangerous or potentially dangerous dog that causes serious injury or death to a domestic animal, without provocation, is guilty of a fourth degree felony and shall be sentenced in accordance with the provisions of Section 31-18-15 NMSA 1978.

D. An owner of a dangerous or potentially dangerous dog that causes serious injury to a human being, without provocation, is guilty of a third degree felony and shall be sentenced in accordance with the provisions of Section 31-18-15 NMSA 1978.

E. An owner of a dangerous or potentially dangerous dog that causes the death of a human being, without provocation, is guilty of a third degree felony resulting in the death of a human being and shall be sentenced in accordance with the provisions of Section 31-18-15 NMSA 1978.

F. Prosecution pursuant to this section requires a showing that:

(1) an owner knew of the propensity of a dog to inflict serious injury; or

(2) the dog had previously been found by a court to be a dangerous or potentially dangerous dog.