{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-246.420","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 246.420","heading":"Tampering with or sabotaging livestock prohibited -- Definitions for","body":"section -- Applicability of KRS Chapter 512.\n(1) No person shall tamper with any livestock.\n(2) No person shall sabotage any livestock exhibited at an exhibition.\n(3) This section shall not apply to:\n(a) Any action taken or activity performed or administered by a licensed\nveterinarian or in accordance with instructions of a licensed veterinarian if the\naction or activity was undertaken for accepted medical purposes during the\ncourse of a valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship; or\n(b) Generally accepted grooming, commercial, or medical practices that are not\nprohibited by any provision of the Kentucky Revised Statutes or any\nadministrative regulation promulgated thereunder.\n(4) As used in this section:\n(a) \"Tamper\" means any of the following:\n1. Treatment of livestock in such a manner that food derived from the\nlivestock would be considered adulterated as defined in KRS 217.025;\n2. The injection, use, or administration of any dru g that is prohibited under\nany federal law or law of this state, or any drug that is used in any\nmanner that is not authorized under any federal law or law of this state.\nWhenever the commissioner of the United States Food and Drug\nAdministration or the se cretary of the United States Department of\nAgriculture, pursuant to the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as\namended, or federal Virus -Serum-Toxin Act, as amended, approves,\ndisapproves, or modifies the conditions of the approved use of a drug,\nthe app roval, disapproval, or modification shall automatically be\neffective for the purposes of this section unless the Kentucky\nDepartment of Agriculture adopts an administrative regulation to alter,\nfor the purposes of the section, the action taken by the commi ssioner or\nsecretary. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture may adopt an\nadministrative regulation if the department considers it to be necessary\nor appropriate for the protection of food safety or the health, safety, or\nwelfare of livestock or to prevent  the use of a drug for the purpose of\nconcealing, enhancing, transforming, or changing the true conformation,\nconfiguration, or condition of livestock. No administrative regulation\nshall authorize the use of any drug the use of which is prohibited by, or\nauthorize the use of any drug in a manner not authorized by, the\ncommissioner or secretary under either of those acts;\n3. The injection or other internal or external administration of any product\nor material, whether gas, solid, or liquid, to livestock for the purpose of\nconcealing, enhancing, transforming, or changing the true conformation,\nconfiguration, condition, or age of the livestock or making the livestock\nappear more sound than it actually is;\n4. The use or administration, for cosmetic purposes, of steroids, growth\nstimulants, or internal artificial filling, including paraffin, silicone\ninjection, or any other substance;\n5. The use or administration of any drug or feed additive affecting the\ncentral nervous system of the livestock;\n6. The use or administration of diuretics for cosmetic purposes; and\n7. The surgical manipulation or removal or tissue so as to change,\ntransform, or enhance the true conformation or configuration of, or to\nconceal the age of, the livestock.\n(b) \"Sabotage\" means intentionally tampering with any livestock belonging to or\nowned by another person that has been registered, entered into, or exhibited in\nany exhibition, or raised with the apparent intent of being entered into an\nexhibition.\n(5) Where a person violat es both the provisions of this section and a section of KRS\nChapter 512, the person may be prosecuted under the provisions of KRS Chapter\n512.","path":["KRS Chapter 246"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=11559","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:52:56Z","sha256":"14e0149f0ce73360b696f9b74c393d1b3bbbcf9916ce5da9f263ce986546d6b3","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-246.410","next":"us-ky/krs-246.510"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}