4:22-24 Animal fighting crimes; definitions.

4:22-24. a. A person who shall:

(1) Keep, use, be connected with or interested in the management of, or receive money for the admission of a person to, a place kept or used for the purpose of fighting or baiting a living animal or creature;

(2) Be present and witness, pay admission to, encourage or assist therein;

(3) Permit or suffer a place owned or controlled by him to be so used;

(4) For amusement or gain, cause, allow, or permit the fighting or baiting of a living animal or creature;

(5) Own, possess, keep, train, promote, purchase, or knowingly sell a living animal or creature for the purpose of fighting or baiting that animal or creature;

(6) Gamble on the outcome of a fight involving a living animal or creature ; or

(7) Own, possess, buy, sell, transfer, or manufacture animal fighting paraphernalia for the purpose of engaging in or otherwise promoting or facilitating the fighting or baiting of a living animal or creature --

Shall be guilty of a crime of the third degree.

b. In determining whether an object is animal fighting paraphernalia, a tryer of fact may consider:

(1) the proximity of the object in time and space to any violation of this section;

(2) direct circumstantial evidence of intent of the person to deliver the object to any person whom the person in possession of the object knows, or should reasonably know, intends to use the object to violate this section;

(3) oral or written instructions concerning its use provided with, or found in the vicinity of, the object;

(4) descriptive materials accompanying the object which explain or depicts its use; and

(5) any other relevant factors.

c. For the purposes of this section:

"Animal fighting paraphernalia" means equipment, products, implements, and materials of any kind that are used, intended for use, or designed for use in the training, preparation, or conditioning of an animal for fighting, or in furtherance of animal fighting, and includes, but is not limited to, the following: breaking sticks, cat mills, treadmills, fighting pits, springpoles, veterinary medicine without a prescription therefor, treatment supplies, gaffs, slashers, heels, or any other sharp implement designed to be attached in place of the natural spur of a rooster, cock, or game fowl.

"Bait" means to attack with violence, to provoke, or to harass an animal with one or more animals for the purpose of training the animal for, or to cause an animal to engage in, a fight with or among other animals.

amended 1989, c.35, s.1; 2015, c.85, s.4; 2019, c.223, s.2.