HB 2535

                      As Amended by Senate Committee
 Session of 2026
                         HOUSE BILL No. 2535
                            By Committee on Judiciary
            Requested by Reily Goyne on behalf of Kansas Pet Advocates
                                      1-23
1 AN ACT concerning crimes, punishment and criminal procedure; relating
2   to cruelty to animals; providing that certain portions of such crime do
3   not apply to any person who catches a feral cat to provide vaccination,
4   spaying or neutering and returns such cat back to the location where
5   such cat is caught; amending K.S.A. 21-6412 and repealing the existing
6   section.
7
8 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
9     Section 1. K.S.A. 21-6412 is hereby amended to read as follows: 21-
10 6412. (a) Cruelty to animals is:
11     (1) Knowingly and maliciously killing, injuring, maiming, torturing,
12 burning or mutilating any animal;
13     (2) knowingly abandoning any animal in any place without making
14 provisions for its proper care;
15     (3) having physical custody of any animal and knowingly failing to
16 provide such food, potable water, protection from the elements,
17 opportunity for exercise and other care as is needed for the health or well-
18 being of such kind of animal;
19     (4) intentionally using a wire, pole, stick, rope or any other object to
20 cause an equine to lose its balance or fall, for the purpose of sport or
21 entertainment;
22     (5) knowingly but not maliciously killing or injuring any animal; or
23     (6) knowingly and maliciously administering any poison to any
24 domestic animal.
25     (b) Cruelty to animals as defined in:
26     (1) Subsection (a)(1) or (a)(6) is a nonperson felony. Upon conviction
27 of subsection (a)(1) or (a)(6), a person shall be sentenced to not less than
28 30 days or more than one year's imprisonment and be fined not less than
29 $500 nor more than $5,000. The person convicted shall not be eligible for
30 release on probation, suspension or reduction of sentence or parole until
31 the person has served the minimum mandatory sentence as provided
32 herein. During the mandatory 30 days imprisonment, such offender shall
33 have a psychological evaluation prepared for the court to assist the court in
34 determining conditions of probation. Such conditions shall include, but not
35 be limited to, the completion of an anger management program; and
 HB 2535—Am. by SC  2
1     (2) subsection (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(4) or (a)(5) is a:
2     (A) Class A nonperson misdemeanor, except as provided in
3 subsection (b)(2)(B); and
4     (B) nonperson felony upon the second or subsequent conviction of
5 cruelty to animals as defined in subsection (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(4) or (a)(5).
6 Upon such conviction, a person shall be sentenced to not less than five
7 days or more than one year's imprisonment and be fined not less than $500
8 nor more than $2,500. The person convicted shall not be eligible for
9 release on probation, suspension or reduction of sentence or parole until
10 the person has served the minimum mandatory sentence as provided
11 herein.
12     (c) The provisions of this section shall not apply to:
13     (1) Normal or accepted veterinary practices;
14     (2) bona fide experiments carried on by commonly recognized
15 research facilities;
16     (3) killing, attempting to kill, trapping, catching or taking of any
17 animal in accordance with the provisions of chapter 32 or chapter 47 of the
18 Kansas Statutes Annotated, and amendments thereto;
19     (4) rodeo practices accepted by the rodeo cowboys' association;
20     (5) the humane killing of an animal that is diseased or disabled
21 beyond recovery for any useful purpose, or the humane killing of animals
22 for population control, by the owner thereof or the agent of such owner
23 residing outside of a city or the owner thereof within a city if no animal
24 shelter or licensed veterinarian is within the city, or by a licensed
25 veterinarian at the request of the owner thereof, or by any officer or agent
26 of an animal shelter, a local or state health officer or a licensed
27 veterinarian three business days following the receipt of any such animal
28 at such shelter;
29     (6) with respect to farm animals, normal or accepted practices of
30 animal husbandry, including the normal and accepted practices for the
31 slaughter of such animals for food or by-products and the careful or thrifty
32 management of one's herd or animals, including animal care practices
33 common in the industry or region;
34     (7) the killing of any animal by any person at any time that may be
35 found outside of the owned or rented property of the owner or custodian of
36 such animal and that is found injuring or posing a threat to any person,
37 farm animal or property;
38     (8) an animal control officer trained by a licensed veterinarian in the
39 use of a tranquilizer gun, using such gun with the appropriate dosage for
40 the size of the animal, when such animal is vicious or could not be
41 captured after reasonable attempts using other methods;
42     (9) laying an equine down for medical or identification purposes;
43     (10) normal or accepted practices of pest control, as defined in K.S.A.
 HB 2535—Am. by SC  3
1 2-2438a(x), and amendments thereto; or
2     (11) accepted practices of animal husbandry pursuant to regulations
3 promulgated by the United States department of agriculture for domestic
4 pet animals under the animal welfare act, public law 89-544, as amended
5 and in effect on July 1, 2006.
6     (d) The provisions of subsections (a)(2) and (a)(3) shall not apply to
7 any person who catches a feral cat to provide vaccination, spaying or
8 neutering and returns such cat back to the location where such cat is
9 caught after providing the vaccination, spaying or neutering.
10     (e) The provisions of subsection (a)(6) shall not apply to any person
11 exposing who exposes poison upon their premises for the purpose of
12 destroying wolves, coyotes or other predatory animals.
13     (e)(f) Any public health officer, law enforcement officer, licensed
14 veterinarian or officer or agent of any animal shelter or other appropriate
15 facility may take into custody any animal, upon either private or public
16 property, that clearly shows evidence of cruelty to animals. Such officer,
17 agent or veterinarian may inspect, care for or treat such animal or place
18 such animal in the care of an animal shelter or licensed veterinarian for
19 treatment, boarding or other care or, if an officer of such animal shelter or
20 such veterinarian determines that the animal appears to be diseased or
21 disabled beyond recovery for any useful purpose, for humane killing. The
22 owner or custodian, if known or reasonably ascertainable, shall be notified
23 in writing. If the owner or custodian is charged with a violation of this
24 section, the law enforcement agency, district attorney's office, county
25 prosecutor, veterinarian or animal shelter may petition the district court in
26 the county in which the animal was taken into custody to transfer
27 ownership of the animal at any time after 21 days after the owner or
28 custodian is notified, unless the owner or custodian of the animal files and
29 maintains a renewable cash or performance bond with the county clerk of
30 the county in which the animal was taken into custody in an amount equal
31 to not less than the cost of care and treatment of the animal for 30 days.
32 Such cash or performance bond shall be maintained and renewed every 30
33 days as necessary to cover the cost of care and treatment of such animal
34 until disposition of the animal by the court. If the owner or custodian is not
35 known or reasonably ascertainable after 21 days after the animal is taken
36 into custody, the law enforcement agency, district attorney's office, county
37 prosecutor, veterinarian or animal shelter may petition the district court in
38 the county in which the animal was taken into custody to transfer
39 ownership of the animal. Upon receiving such petition, the court shall
40 determine whether the animal may be transferred.
41     (f)(g) The owner or custodian of an animal transferred pursuant to
42 subsection (e) (f) shall not be entitled to recover damages for the transfer
43 of such animal unless the owner proves that such transfer was
 HB 2535—Am. by SC  4
1 unwarranted.
2     (g)(h) Expenses incurred for the care, treatment or boarding of any
3 animal, taken into custody pursuant to subsection (e) (f), pending
4 prosecution of the owner or custodian of such animal for the crime of
5 cruelty to animals, shall be assessed to the owner or custodian as a cost of
6 the case if the owner or custodian is adjudicated guilty of such crime. Any
7 costs collected by the court or through the cash or performance bond
8 described in subsection (e) (f) shall be transferred to the entity responsible
9 for paying the cost of the care, treatment or boarding of the animal.
10     (h)(i) If a person is adjudicated guilty of the crime convicted of
11 cruelty to animals, such animal shall not be returned to or remain with
12 such person. Such animal may be turned over to an animal shelter or
13 licensed veterinarian for sale or other disposition.
14     (i)(j) As used in this section:
15     (1) "Animal shelter" means the same as such term is defined in
16 K.S.A. 47-1701, and amendments thereto;
17     (2) "equine" means a horse, pony, mule, jenny, donkey or hinny; and
18     (3) "feral cat" means a cat that has no apparent owner or
19 identification and appears to be unsocialized to humans and
20 unmanageable or otherwise demonstrates characteristics normally
21 associated with a wild or undomesticated animal; and
22     (4) "maliciously" means a state of mind characterized by actual evil-
23 mindedness or specific intent to do a harmful act without a reasonable
24 justification or excuse.
25     Sec. 2. K.S.A. 21-6412 is hereby repealed.
26     Sec. 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
27 publication in the statute book Kansas register.