Florida Senate - 2025 SB 534 By Senator Rodriguez 40-00072A-25 2025534__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to animal cruelty; reordering and 3 amending s. 828.12, F.S.; prohibiting a person from 4 confining an animal in an unattended motor vehicle 5 under certain circumstances; providing criminal 6 penalties; making technical changes; providing an 7 effective date. 8 9 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 10 11 Section 1.Section 828.12, Florida Statutes, is reordered 12 and amended to read: 13 828.12Cruelty to animals. 14 (1)ANIMAL CRUELTY.A person who: 15 (a)Unnecessarily overloads, overdrives, torments, deprives 16 of necessary sustenance or shelter, or unnecessarily mutilates, 17 or kills any animal, or causes the same to be done, or carries 18 in or upon any vehicle, or otherwise, any animal in a cruel or 19 inhumane manner, commits animal cruelty, a misdemeanor of the 20 first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or by a fine 21 of not more than $5,000, or both. 22 (b)Intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly confines an 23 animal in an unattended motor vehicle under conditions that 24 endanger the health or well-being of the animal due to the 25 animal being exposed to temperatures so high or so low that a 26 person could reasonably expect the animal to experience 27 suffering, disability, or death, commits a felony of the third 28 degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or by a fine of not 29 more than $5,000, or both. 30 (2)AGGRAVATED ANIMAL CRUELTY.A person who intentionally 31 commits an act to any animal, or a person who owns or has the 32 custody or control of any animal and fails to act, which results 33 in the cruel death, or excessive or repeated infliction of 34 unnecessary pain or suffering, or causes the same to be done, 35 commits aggravated animal cruelty, a felony of the third degree, 36 punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or by a fine of not more 37 than $10,000, or both. 38 (a)A person convicted of a violation of this subsection, 39 where the finder of fact determines that the violation includes 40 the knowing and intentional torture or torment of an animal 41 which that injures, mutilates, or kills the animal, must shall 42 be ordered to pay a minimum mandatory fine of $2,500 and undergo 43 psychological counseling or complete an anger management 44 treatment program. 45 (b)A person convicted of a second or subsequent violation 46 of this subsection must shall be required to pay a minimum 47 mandatory fine of $5,000 and serve a minimum mandatory period of 48 incarceration of 6 months. In addition, the person may shall be 49 released only upon expiration of sentence, is not eligible for 50 parole, control release, or any form of early release, and must 51 serve 100 percent of the court-imposed sentence. Any plea of 52 nolo contendere is shall be considered a conviction for purposes 53 of this subsection. 54 (5)(3)SEPARATE OFFENSES.A person who commits multiple 55 acts of animal cruelty or aggravated animal cruelty against an 56 animal may be charged with a separate offense for each such act. 57 A person who commits animal cruelty or aggravated animal cruelty 58 against more than one animal may be charged with a separate 59 offense for each animal such cruelty was committed upon. 60 (4)VETERINARIANS.A veterinarian licensed to practice in 61 the state shall be held harmless from either criminal or civil 62 liability for any decisions made or services rendered under the 63 provisions of this section. Such a veterinarian is, therefore, 64 under this subsection, immune from a lawsuit for his or her part 65 in an investigation of cruelty to animals. 66 (3)(5)AGGRAVATED ANIMAL CRUELTY OF A HORSE.A person who 67 intentionally trips, fells, ropes, or lassos the legs of a horse 68 by any means for the purpose of entertainment or sport commits 69 aggravated animal cruelty, a felony of the third degree, 70 punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. 71 As used in this subsection, the term trip means any act that 72 consists of the use of any wire, pole, stick, rope, or other 73 apparatus to cause a horse to fall or lose its balance, and the 74 term horse means any animal of any registered breed of the 75 genus Equus, or any recognized hybrid thereof. This subsection 76 does not apply when tripping is used: 77 (a)To control a horse that is posing an immediate threat 78 to other livestock or human beings; 79 (b)For the purpose of identifying ownership of the horse 80 when its ownership is unknown; or 81 (c)For the purpose of administering veterinary care to the 82 horse. 83 (6)ADDITIONAL PENALTIES.In addition to other penalties 84 prescribed by law, a person who is convicted of violating a 85 violation of this section may be prohibited by the court from 86 owning, possessing, keeping, harboring, or having custody or 87 control over any animal for a period of time determined by the 88 court. 89 Section 2.This act shall take effect October 1, 2025.