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H 7562Criminal Justice

Animals and Animal Husbandry - Cruelty to Animals

This bill empowers local animal shelters to seize abused animals and requires owners to pay for their care.

Signed into law69 Yea0 Nay6 Not voting
Population
Affected
35
Email Legislator
Introduced Feb 6, 2026Committee House Municipal Government & Housing

Plain-English Summary

This legislation updates Rhode Island's animal cruelty laws to explicitly grant city and town animal control officers and municipal animal shelters the same authority as the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RISPCA). It allows these local officials to take custody of neglected, abandoned, or abused animals. The bill mandates that pet owners are financially responsible for the care of seized animals. It also establishes specific legal procedures for owners to petition for the return of their animals and allows shelters to take ownership if fees are unpaid or petitions are not filed.

For younger readers

This new rule helps protect animals that are not being taken care of properly. Before, mostly a special state group helped these animals. Now, the animal control officers in your specific town can also step in to save a hurt, sick, or lonely animal. If a person treats a pet badly, the town can take the pet away to a safe shelter. The owner of the pet has to pay for the pet's food and medicine while it is at the shelter. This helps make sure animals get the help they need right away.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Pet OwnersAnimal Control OfficersMunicipal Animal SheltersRhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RISPCA)Veterinarians
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely. While the bill involves the seizure of property (animals) and the imposition of costs prior to criminal conviction, it includes a specific provision for a post-deprivation hearing. Owners may petition the district court within 60 days for the return of the animal, satisfying procedural due process requirements under the 14th Amendment. The "preponderance of the evidence" standard used in these civil hearings is legally standard for forfeiture and custody disputes.

Estimated cost
Amount unknown
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Expands the capacity for animal welfare intervention by empowering local municipalities to act, ensuring that neglected animals in underserved areas receive timely care.
  • Promotes accountability by ensuring that individuals who abuse or neglect animals are financially responsible for their care, preventing these costs from draining public resources.
  • Establishes a clear legal framework for custody and care, ensuring that animals are not left in legal limbo and can be moved to safe environments more efficiently.
  • May disproportionately affect low-income individuals who, even if not maliciously cruel, may lose their pets permanently because they cannot afford the accumulated shelter costs.
  • Expands the seizure powers of local law enforcement (animal control), which could lead to over-policing in marginalized communities under subjective definitions of "unfit."
  • The focus on "hazardous accumulation" and financial penalties may punish individuals suffering from mental health issues, such as hoarding disorder, rather than offering them social support.
For Conservatives
  • Enforces personal responsibility by mandating that pet owners pay for the consequences of their neglect, ensuring taxpayers are not forced to subsidize the care of seized animals.
  • Strengthens local control by devolving authority to city and town officials, allowing communities to manage animal welfare issues internally rather than relying on a state-level society.
  • Provides a mechanism to address "hazardous accumulation" of animals, which protects property values and neighborhood standards from the negative effects of hoarding and neglect.
  • Expands government power to seize private property (animals) based on the discretion of local officials, potentially threatening property rights without an initial criminal conviction.
  • Imposes financial liabilities on citizens before they are found guilty of a crime, creating a system where the government can charge fees prior to due process being fully concluded.
  • Allows for the permanent forfeiture of property if an owner misses a strict 60-day filing deadline, potentially bypassing standard judicial protections for property ownership.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 17 additions · 2 deletions

SECTION 1. Section 4-1-22 of the General Laws in Chapter 4-1 entitled "Cruelty to Animals" is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-1-22. Care of neglected animals by society — Forfeiture of owner’s rights — Expenses.

(a) An animal control officer of a city or town, or an officer or agent of the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals may lawfully take charge of and shall provide adequate care to any animal found abandoned or neglected or hazardously accumulated as defined in § 4-1-1, or that in the opinion of that officer or agent, is aged, maimed, disabled, lame, sick, diseased, injured, unfit for the labor it is performing, or cruelly treated, and shall give notice to the owner or guardian, if known.

(b) Every owner or guardian, upon conviction, plea of guilty, or plea of nolo contendere, of abandonment, neglect, hazardous accumulation as defined in § 4-1-1, or otherwise cruel treatment of any animal taken charge of by an animal control officer of a city or town, or an agent of the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals under this section, forfeits the rights to ownership or control of that animal to the Society for disposition in any manner deemed suitable for that animal.

(c) Whenever any animal control officer of a city or town, or an officer or agent of the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals lawfully takes charge of any animal under this section, all reasonable expenses for the care and treatment of the animal(s), while in the custody of the city or town animal shelter, or the Society during this time, shall be paid for by the owner or guardian. The city or town animal shelter, or the Society has the authority to commence a civil action for damages against the owner or guardian thirty (30) days after a written demand for payment of the expense of the suitable care of that animal has been sent and no payment has been received. The written demand shall state that the failure to pay or make arrangements to pay for the care of that animal may result in forfeiture of ownership of the animal. The cost of the care and treatment that is billed to the owner or guardian shall be reasonable and related to equivalent services provided by veterinary care and animal sheltering, feeding, and boarding services in this state.

(d) The owner or guardian of any animal that is in the charge of the city or town animal shelter, or the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals pursuant to the authority granted in this section may, within sixty (60) days following the date that the society city or town animal shelter, or the Society gives notice of the taking of possession of the animal, petition the district court for an order to return custody of the animal to the owner or guardian.

(e) Upon the filing of the petition, the court shall cause a summons to be issued requiring an authorized representative of the city or town animal shelter, or the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to appear in court at the time and place named, which summons shall be served not less than fourteen (14) days before the date of the hearing.

(f) At the hearing on the petition, the court shall consider:

(1) The animal’s condition;

(2) The care required to maintain the animal safely and in an appropriate environment; and

(3) The ability of the petitioner to provide or arrange for the adequate care of the animal, including during the time any criminal charges related to or arising from the seizure are pending.

(g) If, after hearing, the court finds that the owner or guardian of the animal has the ability to properly care for or arrange for the adequate care of the animal during the pendency of the criminal charges, the court may allow the owner or guardian of the animal to have or arrange for the adequate care, custody, and control of the animal pending the final determination of the related criminal charges subject to such restrictions and conditions as the court determines to be reasonable or necessary.

(h) All issues will be decided upon a preponderance of the evidence.

(i) In the event that the court orders an animal returned to the owner or guardian following the hearing, the owner or guardian will not be required to pay for the cost of care incurred prior to the date of the hearing unless and until such time as there has been a conviction, plea of guilty, or plea of nolo contendere, of abandonment, neglect, hazardous accumulation as defined in § 4-1-1, or otherwise cruel treatment in the related criminal proceeding.

(j) In the event that the owner or guardian fails to petition for custody of the animal within sixty (60) days of notice of the taking or fails to pay within sixty (60) days of the written demand for payment, the city or town animal shelter, or the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals may petition the court for transfer of ownership of the animal to the city or town animal shelter, or the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. If the owner or guardian fails to respond to the petition for transfer of ownership the court shall transfer ownership to the society Society.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.