New Texas bill would make it a felony to steal a pet

by Vince Leibowitz of Capitol Annex

A bill proposed by State Rep. Eddie Lucio, III (D-Brownsville) would make it a state jail felony to steal a pet.

The bill, HB 435, would amend the penal code to make theft of a pet a separately codified offense, and allow a penalty of up to two years in prison to be assessed to individuals who steal domesticated household pets including cats, dogs, rodents, fish, reptiles or birds. Livestock and wildlife animals would not be covered by the bill; theft of livestock and wild animals are covered in other sections of Texas law.

Under current Texas law, when people were prosecuted for stealing a family pet, they were typically prosecuted based on the value of the pet, since pets are essentially considered chattle under Texas law. Consequently, theft of a prized , pedigreed, Golden Retriever with a significant retail could essentially mean that someone who was prosecuted for stealing that type of pet would be prosecuted differently than someone who stole a mixed-breed dog a family adopted from a local animal shelter. Thus, there was a significant disparity that often made prosecution for theft of a pet fairly meaningless if the pet wasn’t a pedigreed animal with a significant retail value.

The legislation is likely crafted in response to a bizarre incident that occurred in the Rio Grande Valley city of Alice earlier this year when the mayor of that city was prosecuted for allegedly stealing a neighbor’s dog.

The bill would continue a trend by the Legislature to create additional offenses and penalties to those who harm domesticated animals. During the 80th Session of the Texas Legislature in 2007, the Legislature passed and Governor Rick Perry signed HB 2328 which significantly modified the state’s Cruelty To Animals statutes, creating the separate offense of Cruelty to Non-Livestock Animals and Cruelty to Livestock Animals.

The original cruelty to animals law was enacted by the Texas Legislature in 1973 and underwent a number of revisions including in 1997, 2001, and 2003.

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