§ 4-1-2 - Overwork, mistreatment, or failure to feed animals – Shelter defined. - Rhode Island Statutes

SECTION 4-1-2

   § 4-1-2  Overwork, mistreatment, or failureto feed animals – Shelter defined. – (a) Whoever overdrives, overloads, drives when overloaded, overworks, tortures,torments, deprives of necessary sustenance, cruelly beats, mutilates or cruellykills, or causes or procures to be so overdriven, overloaded, driven whenoverloaded, overworked, tortured, tormented, deprived of necessary sustenance,cruelly beaten, mutilated or cruelly killed, any animal, and whoever, havingthe charge or custody of any animal, either as owner or otherwise, inflictscruelty upon that animal, or willfully fails to provide that animal with properfood, drink, shelter or protection from the weather, shall, for each offense,be imprisoned not exceeding eleven (11) months, or be fined not less than fiftydollars ($50.00) nor exceeding five hundred dollars ($500), or both.

   (b) Every owner, possessor, or person having charge of anyanimal may upon conviction of a violation of this section be ordered to forfeitall rights to ownership of the animal to the animal control officer of the cityor town in which the offense occurred or to a humane society which owns andoperates the shelter which provided the subject animal shelter subsequent toany confiscation of said animal pursuant to this section.

   (c) Shelters means a structure used to house any animal whichwill provide sufficient protection from inclement elements for the health andwell being of the animal.