Bill approved for owners to pay costs of care in Kentucky animal cruelty cases
Owners of animals seized in cruelty investigations in Kentucky would have to pay for their care while the case was pending under a measure approved Tuesday by a state Senate committee.
Some members of the Senate Agriculture Committee expressed concern that the language in the bill was so broad it could apply to livestock such as cattle and hogs and cause problems for farmers.
The sponsor, Republican Sen. Julie Raque Adams of Louisville, said that was not the intent and that she would be open to changes in the bill to make clear it did not apply to legitimate farming practices.
Supporters said Senate Bill 125 is designed to spare local animal shelters and governments from having to pay costs to house, feed and provide medical care for domesticated animals such as dogs and cats seized in cruelty and hoarding cases.
When animal control officers or police take animals from a person as part of a criminal case, the agency or a shelter has to keep the animals until the case is resolved.
That can take months or more than a year, meaning tens of thousands in costs in some cases.
In one 2018 case, it cost Lexington — Fayette Animal Care and Control just over $100,000 to care for cats seized in an investigation before the charges were resolved, according to Lt. Jai Hamilton.
SB 125 would set up a process in which a judge could order the owner of animals seized in an investigation to pay for their care while the case was pending.
The owner could decide to forfeit the animals. That would not affect the criminal case, but would allow shelters and rescues holding the animals to adopt them out and end the cost of caring for them.
“This would be a cost savings to every single county in the state as well as taxpayers,” Joy Keeley, a former Louisville police officer, said in testifying for the bill.
A judge would have to rule early in the case that authorities had grounds to seize the animals before ordering an owner to pay for the costs of caring for them.
If an owner did not give up the animals and was later acquitted in the criminal case, he or she would get back any payments for caring for them.
Todd Blevins, Kentucky state director with the Humane Society of the U.D., said Kentucky is one of only 12 states without some form of such a cost of care law.
Sen. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, voted no on the bill, saying it raised concerns about infringing on private property and legal due-process rights, and that it could be used to target legitimate animal breeders.
Several senators who voted to move the bill out of committee said they did so with the understanding it would be amended to protect farming practices.
