N.Y. Agriculture & Markets Law § 353-a: Aggravated cruelty to animals

§ 353-a. Aggravated cruelty to animals. 1. A person is guilty of

aggravated cruelty to animals when, with no justifiable purpose, he or

she intentionally kills or intentionally causes serious physical injury

to a companion animal with aggravated cruelty. For purposes of this

section, "aggravated cruelty" shall mean conduct which: (i) is intended

to cause extreme physical pain; or (ii) is done or carried out in an

especially depraved or sadistic manner.

2. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit or

interfere in any way with anyone lawfully engaged in hunting, trapping,

or fishing, as provided in article eleven of the environmental

conservation law, the dispatch of rabid or diseased animals, as provided

in article twenty-one of the public health law, or the dispatch of

animals posing a threat to human safety or other animals, where such

action is otherwise legally authorized, or any properly conducted

scientific tests, experiments, or investigations involving the use of

living animals, performed or conducted in laboratories or institutions

approved for such purposes by the commissioner of health pursuant to

section three hundred fifty-three of this article.

3. Aggravated cruelty to animals is a felony. A defendant convicted of

this offense shall be sentenced pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision

one of section 55.10 of the penal law provided, however, that any term

of imprisonment imposed for violation of this section shall be a

definite sentence, which may not exceed two years.