Animal Abuse Penal Code
Penal Code 398
- Whenever a person owning or having custody or control of an animal, knows, or has reason to know, that the animal bit another person, he or she shall, as soon as is possible, but no later than 48 hours thereafter, provide the other person with his or her name, address, telephone number, and the name and license tag number of the animal who bit the other person.
If the person with custody or control of the animal at the time the bite occurs is a minor, he or she shall instead provide identification or contact information of an adult owner or responsible party. If the animal is required by law to be vaccinated against rabies, the person owning or having custody or control of the animal shall, within 48 hours of the bite, provide the other person with information rgarding the status of the animal’s vaccinations. Violation of this section is an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100). - For purposes of this section, it is necessary for the skin of the person bitten to be broken or punctured by the animal for the contact to be classified as a bite.
Heads up, Ventura County! Summer is almost here, and so is the heat!
Many of us love to take our pets for a ride when we run errands or are just cruising around taking in the beautiful landscapes of our community.
The Humane Society wants to give everyone a heads up on a previous law that has been amended to give our pets better protection when leaving them unattended in a motor vehicle.
The amended law is Penal Code 597.7
Under the amended law it says, no person shall confine or leave an animal in any motor vehicle under conditions that endanger the health or well-being of an animal due to heat, cold, lack of adequate ventilation, or lack of food or water, or other circumstances that could reasonably be expected to cause suffering, disability or death to the animal.
Unless the animal suffers great bodily unjury, a firsr conviction for violation of this code is punishable by a fine not exceeding ($100) per animal. If the animal suffers great bodily injury, a violation of this code section is punishable by a fine not exceeding ($500.), imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months or by fine and imprisonment. Any subsequent violation of this section regardless of injury to an animal is also punishable by fine or imprisonment or both.
A peace officer, humane officer, or animal control officer is authorized to take all steps that are reasonably necessary for the removal of an animal from a motor vehicle including, but not limited to, breaking into the motor vehicle, after a reasonable effort to locate the owner or other person responsible. In other words, an officer can brek out a window of the vehicle to rescue the animal. So not only will the person have to pay a fine, go to jail or both, but then also pay for a new window.
Even when parking your car in the shade, leaving the windowms down, it can still get up to 160 degrees inside the vehicle. Our officers carry as standard equipment, a digital thermometer to read the temperature inside the vehicle.
When you do take your pet in the car, take precautions like bring water and a bowl to hydrate your pet and keep them safe.
Jeff Hoffman has twenty-five years of experience investigating animal abuse, and neglect. If you have anything in mind that you would like Jeff to write about, you can submit your ideas by email to Jeff at investigations@humanesocietyvc.org.
