As used in this Article the following terms shall mean:
Normal and prudent attention to the needs of an animal, including
wholesome food, clean water, shelter and health care as necessary
to maintain good health in a specific species of animal.
To reasonably restrain or govern an animal so that the animal
does not injure itself, any person, any other animal, or property.
Every living vertebrate except a human being.
A facility which is used to house or contain animals and
which is owned, operated, or maintained by a duly incorporated humane
society, animal welfare society, society for the prevention of cruelty
to animals, or other not for profit organization devoted to the welfare,
protection, and humane treatment of animals.
An animal raised on a farm or ranch and used or intended
for use in farm or ranch production, or as food or fiber.
To feed or shelter an animal at the same location for three
(3) or more consecutive days.
The destruction of an animal accomplished by a method approved
by the American Veterinary Medical Association's Panel on Euthanasia
(JAVMA 173: 59-72, 1978); or more recent editions, but animals killed
during the feeding of pet carnivores shall be considered humanely
killed.
In addition to its ordinary meaning, any person who keeps
or harbors an animal or professes to be owning, keeping, or harboring
an animal.
Any individual, partnership, firm, joint stock company, corporation,
association, trust, estate, or other legal entity.
Birds, rabbits, or rodents which damage property or have
an adverse effect on the public health, but shall not include any
endangered species listed by the United States Department of the Interior
nor any endangered species listed in the Wildlife Code of Missouri.
A.
A person
commits the offense of animal neglect when he has custody or ownership
or both of an animal and fails to provide adequate care or adequate
control.
B.
All
fines and penalties for a first (1st) conviction of animal neglect
may be waived by the court provided that the person found guilty of
animal neglect shows that adequate, permanent remedies for the neglect
have been made. Reasonable costs incurred for the care and maintenance
of neglected animals may not be waived.
A.
A person
commits the offense of animal abuse when a person:
1.
Intentionally or purposely kills an animal in any manner not allowed
by or expressly exempted from the provisions of Sections 578.005 to
578.023, RSMo.
2.
Purposely, intentionally or recklessly causes injury, suffering,
or pain to an animal.
3.
Abandons an animal in any place without making provisions for its
adequate care.
4.
Overworks or overloads an animal, or drives or works an animal unfit
to work.
5.
Having ownership or custody of an animal willfully fails to provide
adequate care or adequate control.
The parent or guardian of a minor child is responsible for the
adequate care of any animal owned by, in the control of, or harbored
by that minor child.
