AN ACT RELATING TO ANIMALS AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY -- CRUELTY TO ANIMALS (Increases the penalty for cruelty to animals, first offense, from eleven months to twelve months incarceration.)

S2298

2026 -- S 2298
========
LC003950
========

STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
____________
A N A C T
RELATING TO ANIMALS AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY -- CRUELTY TO ANIMALS

Introduced By:
Senators Dimitri, Thompson, Urso, Tikoian, Murray, Famiglietti,
Patalano, Burke, Appollonio, and Vargas

Date Introduced:
January 23, 2026

Referred To:
Senate Judiciary
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
1
SECTION 1. Section 4-1-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 4-1 entitled "Cruelty to
2
Animals" is hereby amended to read as follows:
3

4-1-2. Overwork, mistreatment, or failure to feed animals — Shelter defined.
4
(a) Whoever overdrives, overloads, drives when overloaded, overworks, tortures, torments,
5
deprives of necessary sustenance, cruelly beats, mutilates, or cruelly kills, or causes or procures to
6
be so overdriven, overloaded, driven when overloaded, overworked, tortured, tormented, deprived
7
of necessary sustenance, cruelly beaten, or mutilated, any animal, and whoever, having the charge
8
or custody of any animal, either as owner or otherwise, inflicts cruelty upon that animal, or willfully
9
fails to provide that animal with proper food, drink, shelter, or protection from the weather, shall,
10
for each offense, be imprisoned not exceeding
eleven (11)

twelve (12)
months, or be fined not less
11
than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor exceeding five hundred dollars ($500), or both. If the offense
12
described in this section results in the death of the animal, the person shall be punished in the
13
manner provided in § 4-1-5.
14
(b) Any person who has been previously convicted of an offense provided for in chapter 1
15
of title 4 shall, upon conviction of a second or subsequent violation within a ten-year (10) period,
16
be imprisoned for a period not exceeding six (6) years, or fined not less than five hundred dollars
17
($500) and not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000), or both. In addition, every person
18
convicted under chapter 1 of title 4 of a second or subsequent offense shall be required to serve one
19
hundred (100) hours of community restitution. The community restitution penalty shall not be

1
suspended or deferred and is mandatory.
2
(c) Every owner, possessor, or person having charge of any animal may, upon conviction
3
of a violation of this section, be ordered to forfeit all rights to ownership of the animal to the animal-
4
control officer of the city or town in which the offense occurred or to a humane society that owns
5
and operates the shelter that provided the subject animal shelter subsequent to any confiscation of
6
that animal pursuant to this section.
7
(d) Shelter means a structure used to house any animal that will provide sufficient
8
protection from inclement elements for the health and well being of the animal.
9
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
========
LC003950
========

LC003950 - Page 2 of 3
EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO ANIMALS AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY -- CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
***
1
This act would increase the penalty for cruelty to animals, first offense, from eleven months
2
to twelve months incarceration.
3
This act would take effect upon passage.
========
LC003950
========

LC003950 - Page 3 of 3