N.Y. Agriculture & Markets Law § 353: Overdriving, torturing and injuring animals; failure to provide proper sustenance

§ 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 class A misdemeanor and for purposes of paragraph (b) of

subdivision one of section 160.10 of the criminal procedure law, shall

be treated as a misdemeanor defined in the penal law.

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.