HEALTH & SAFETY CODE
TITLE 10. HEALTH AND SAFETY OF ANIMALS
CHAPTER 821. TREATMENT AND DISPOSITION OF ANIMALS
SUBCHAPTER A. TREATMENT OF ANIMALS
§ 821.001. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "animal"
includes every living dumb creature.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
§ 821.002. TREATMENT OF IMPOUNDED ANIMALS. (a) A
person who impounds or causes the impoundment of an animal under
state law or municipal ordinance shall supply the animal with
sufficient wholesome food and water during its confinement.
(b) If an animal impounded under Subsection (a) continues to
be without necessary food and water for more than 12 successive
hours, any person may enter the pound or corral as often as
necessary to supply the animal with necessary food and water. That
person may recover the reasonable cost of the food and water from
the owner of the animal. The animal is not exempt from levy and sale
on execution of a judgment issued to recover those costs.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
SUBCHAPTER B. DISPOSITION OF CRUELLY TREATED ANIMALS
§ 821.021. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "cruelly
treated" includes tortured, seriously overworked, unreasonably
abandoned, unreasonably deprived of necessary food, care, or
shelter, cruelly confined, or caused to fight with another animal.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.
§ 821.022. SEIZURE OF CRUELLY TREATED ANIMAL. (a) If a
peace officer or an officer who has responsibility for animal
control in a county or municipality has reason to believe that an
animal has been or is being cruelly treated, the officer may apply
to a justice court or magistrate in the county or to a municipal
court in the municipality in which the animal is located for a
warrant to seize the animal.
(b) On a showing of probable cause to believe that the
animal has been or is being cruelly treated, the court or magistrate
shall issue the warrant and set a time within 10 calendar days of
the date of issuance for a hearing in the appropriate justice court
or municipal court to determine whether the animal has been cruelly
treated.
(c) The officer executing the warrant shall cause the animal
to be impounded and shall give written notice to the owner of the
animal of the time and place of the hearing.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended
by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 387, § 1, eff. June 7, 1991; Acts
2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1043, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
§ 821.023. HEARING; ORDER OF DISPOSITION OR RETURN OF
ANIMAL. (a) A finding in a court of competent jurisdiction that
the owner of an animal is guilty of an offense under Section 42.09,
Penal Code, involving the animal is prima facie evidence at a
hearing authorized by Section 821.022 that the animal has been
cruelly treated.
(b) A statement of an owner made at a hearing provided for
under this subchapter is not admissible in a trial of the owner for
an offense under Section 42.09, Penal Code.
(c) Each interested party is entitled to an opportunity to
present evidence at the hearing.
(d) If the court finds that the animal's owner has cruelly
treated the animal, the owner shall be divested of ownership of the
animal, and the court shall:
(1) order a public sale of the animal by auction;
(2) order the animal given to a nonprofit animal
shelter, pound, or society for the protection of animals; or
(3) order the animal humanely destroyed if the court
decides that the best interests of the animal or that the public
health and safety would be served by doing so.
(e) A court that finds that an animal's owner has cruelly
treated the animal shall order the owner to pay all court costs,
including costs of:
(1) investigation;
(2) expert witnesses;
(3) housing and caring for the animal during its
impoundment;
(4) conducting any public sale ordered by the court;
and
(5) humanely destroying the animal if destruction is
ordered by the court.
(f) The court may order that an animal disposed of under
Subsection (d)(1) or (d)(2) be spayed or neutered at the cost of the
receiving party.
(g) The court shall order the animal returned to the owner
if the court does not find that the animal's owner has cruelly
treated the animal.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended
by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 157, § 1, eff. Aug. 26, 1991; Acts
1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, § 14.43, 14.44, eff. Sept. 1, 1995;
Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1043, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
§ 821.024. SALE OR DISPOSITION OF CRUELLY TREATED
ANIMAL. (a) Notice of an auction ordered under this subchapter
must be posted on a public bulletin board where other public notices
are posted for the county or municipality. At the auction, a bid by
the former owner of a cruelly treated animal or the owner's
representative may not be accepted.
(b) Proceeds from the sale of the animal shall be applied
first to any costs owed by the former owner under Section
821.023(e). The officer conducting the auction shall pay any excess
proceeds to the justice or municipal court ordering the auction.
The court shall return the excess proceeds to the former owner of
the animal.
(c) If the officer is unable to sell the animal at auction,
the officer may cause the animal to be humanely destroyed or may
give the animal to a nonprofit animal shelter, pound, or society for
the protection of animals.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended
by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 387, § 2, eff. June 7, 1991; Acts
2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1043, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
§ 821.025. APPEAL. (a) An owner of an animal ordered
sold at public auction as provided in this subchapter may appeal the
order to a county court or county court at law in the county in which
the justice or municipal court is located. As a condition of
perfecting an appeal, the owner must file an appeal bond in an
amount determined by the justice or municipal court to be adequate
to cover the estimated expenses incurred in housing and caring for
the impounded animal during the appeal process. The decision of the
county court or county court at law may not be further appealed. An
owner may not appeal an order:
(1) to give the animal to a nonprofit animal shelter,
pound, or society for the protection of animals; or
(2) to humanely destroy the animal.
(b) While an appeal under this section is pending, the
animal may not be:
(1) sold or given away as provided by Sections 821.023
and 821.024; or
(2) destroyed, except under circumstances which would
require the humane destruction of the animal to prevent undue pain
to or suffering of the animal.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended
by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1043, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.