| 1 | 1 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2757 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | (2023-2024) |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | SENATE, May 2, 2024. |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | The committee on The Judiciary, to whom was referred the petitions (accompanied by |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | bill, Senate, No. 1142) of John C. Velis, Patrick M. O'Connor, Jack Patrick Lewis, Steven |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | George Xiarhos and other members of the General Court for legislation relative to the humane |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | protection of animals; and (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1718) of Edward R. Philips, Jessica |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | Ann Giannino and others for legislation relative to the humane protection of animals and |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | establishing a task force to complete a systematic review of the laws pertaining to animal cruelty |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | and protection, report the accompanying bill (Senate, No. 2757). |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | For the committee, |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | James B. Eldridge 1 of 2 |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | FILED ON: 4/30/2024 |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2757 |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | (2023-2024) |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | An Act relative to the humane protection of animals. |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | of the same, as follows: |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | 1 SECTION 1. Chapter 140 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | 2section 141B the following 2 sections:- |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | 3 Section 141C. (a) No person shall sell, exchange, trade, barter, lease or transfer for |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | 4permanent physical placement possession a dog or cat that is under 8 weeks of age; provided, |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | 5however, that this prohibition is not applicable to the transfer of dogs or cats between any shelter, |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | 6municipal animal control facility or animal rescue organization licensed under section 39A or |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | 7chapter 129. A violation of this subsection shall be punished by a fine of not more than $100. |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | 8Each dog or cat sold, exchanged, traded, bartered or leased in violation of this section shall |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | 9constitute a separate offense. |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | 10 Section 141D. (a) No person shall sell, offer to sell, exchange, trade, barter, lease or |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | 11transfer any dog or cat on any roadside, public right-of-way, parkway, median, park or other |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | 12recreation area, flea market or other outdoor market, or commercial or retail parking lot. 2 of 2 |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | 13 (b) This section shall not apply to: (1) the transfer, regardless of payment or |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | 14compensation, of a dog or cat by, or to, a shelter, municipal animal control facility or animal |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | 15rescue organization licensed under section 39A of chapter 129; or (2) the display of a dog or cat |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | 16as part of a state or county fair exhibition, a 4-H program or similar exhibition or educational |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | 17program. |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | 18 (c) A violation of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than $50 for a first |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | 19offense, a fine of not more than $100 for a second offense and a fine of not more than $300 for a |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | 20third or subsequent offense. Each dog or cat sold, traded, bartered or leased in violation of this |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | 21section shall constitute a separate offense. |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | 22 (d) A city or town shall enforce this section through its animal control officers or police |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | 23officers in a manner consistent with the disposition provisions in section 21D of chapter 40. |
|---|