Sec. 8. 7 MRSA §4015, sub-§2, ¶D is enacted to read:

D.__A tether must be 5 times the length of the dog from the tip of its nose to the base of its tail.__A tether must be attached to a swivel or pulley.__The collar used to attach a dog to a tether may not be a choke type.__The use of the tether to restrain a dog may not result in the frequent entanglement of the dog and may not render the dog incapable of consuming food and water provided for the dog or prevent the dog from moving to adequate shelter.

Sec. 9. 7 MRSA §4016, as amended by PL 1999, c.597, §2, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:

§4016.__Violation

1.__Penalty.__A person who violates this chapter commits a civil violation.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the Maine Civil Code, in addition to any other penalty authorized by law, the court shall impose a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $5,000 for the first violation of section 4011 and a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000 for a 2nd or subsequent violation of section 4011 or a first violation of section 4011, subsection 1- B.__The court may order the defendant to pay the costs of the care, housing and veterinary medical treatment for the animal.

The court, as part of the penalty, may prohibit a person adjudicated as having violated the laws against cruelty to animals from owning, possessing or having on the defendant's premises an animal for a period of time, up to and including permanent relinquishment.__The court as part of the sentence may order that the defendant be evaluated to determine the need for psychiatric or psychological counseling.__If the defendant is a juvenile, the court shall order that the juvenile be required to receive psychiatric or psychological counseling.__The parents or guardian, if they are able, shall pay for the counseling.

2.__Criminal or civil prosecution.__ A person may be arrested or detained for the crime of cruelty to animals in accordance with the rules of criminal procedure.__A person may not be arrested or detained for the civil violation of cruelty to animals.__The attorney for the State shall elect to charge a defendant with the crime of cruelty to animals under Title 17, section 1031 or the civil violation of cruelty to animals under section 4011.__In making this election, the attorney for the

State shall consider the severity of the cruelty displayed, the number of animals involved, any prior convictions or adjudications of animal cruelty entered against the defendant and such other factors as may be relevant to a determination of whether criminal or civil sanctions will best accomplish the goals of the animal welfare laws in the particular case before the attorney for the State.__The election and determination required by this subsection are not subject to judicial review.__ The factors involved in such election and determination are not elements of the criminal offense or civil violation of animal cruelty and are not subject to proof or disproof as prerequisites or conditions for conviction under Title 17, section 1031, subsection 4 or adjudication under section 4011.

Sec. 10. 17 MRSA §1031, sub-§1, ¶A, as repealed and replaced by PL 1995, c. 490, §25, is amended to read:

A. Kills or attempts to kill any animal belonging to another person without the consent of the owner or without legal privilege;

Sec. 11. 17 MRSA §1031, sub-§1, ¶D, as amended by PL 1997, c. 456, §13, is further amended to read:

D. Injures, overworks, tortures, torments, or abandons or cruelly beats or intentionally mutilates an animal; gives drugs to an animal with an intent to harm the animal; gives poison or alcohol to an animal; or exposes a poison with intent that it be taken by an animal. The owner or occupant of property is privileged to use reasonable force to eject a trespassing animal;

Sec. 12. 17 MRSA §1031, sub-§1, ¶G, as amended by PL 1999, c. 765, §11, is further amended to read:

G. Hunts or sells for the purpose of hunting any animal, except as permitted pursuant to Title 7, chapter 202-A and Title 12, Part 10; or

Sec. 13. 17 MRSA §1031, sub-§1, ¶H, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 254, §21, is amended to read:

H. Injects, inserts or causes ingestion of any substance used solely to enhance the performance of an animal by altering the animal's metabolism to that animal's detriment, including but not limited to excessive levels of sodium bicarbonate in equines used for competition.; or

Sec. 14. 17 MRSA §1031, sub-§1, ¶I is enacted to read:

I.__Kills or tortures an animal to frighten or intimidate a child or forces a child to injure or kill an animal.

Sec. 15. 17 MRSA §1031, sub-§1-A, as amended by PL 1999, c. 481, §1, is further amended to read:

1-A. Animal cruelty. Except as provided in paragraphs paragraph A and B, a person is guilty of cruelty to animals if that person intentionally, knowingly or recklessly kills or attempts to kill a cat or dog.

A. A licensed veterinarian or a person certified under section 1042 may kill a cat or dog according to the methods of euthanasia under chapter 42, subchapter IV.

B. A person who owns a cat or dog, or the owner's agent, may kill that owner's cat or dog by shooting with a firearm provided the following conditions are met.

(1) The shooting is performed by a person 18 years of age or older using a weapon and ammunition of suitable caliber and other characteristics to produce instantaneous death by a single shot.

(2) Death is instantaneous.

(3) Maximum precaution is taken to protect the general public, employees and other animals.

(4) Any restraint of the cat or dog during the shooting does not cause undue suffering.

Sec. 16. 17 MRSA §1031, sub-§1-B is enacted to read:

1-B.__Aggravated cruelty to animals.__A person is guilty of aggravated cruelty to animals if that person:

A.__Causes extreme physical pain to an animal;

B.__Maliciously kills an animal;

C.__Intentionally or knowingly tortures an animal; or

D.__Carries out paragraph A, B or C in a depraved or sadistic manner.

Sec. 17. 17 MRSA §1031, sub-§3, as amended by PL 1999, c. 481, §1, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:

3.__Penalty.__Cruelty to animals under subsection 1 is a Class D crime.__If the State pleads and proves that, at the time a violation of this section was committed, the defendant had been convicted of one or more violations of subsection 1 or aggravated cruelty to animals under subsection 1-B, section 1032 or 2 or more violations under Title 7, section 4011 or essentially similar crimes in other jurisdictions, the sentencing class for the crime is one class higher than it would otherwise be.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the Maine Civil Code, in addition to any other penalty authorized by law, the court shall impose a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $5,000 for the first violation of this section and a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000 for a 2nd or subsequent violation of this section or a first violation of subsection 1-B.__The court may order the defendant to pay the costs of the care, housing and veterinary medical treatment for the animal.

The court, as part of the sentence, may prohibit the defendant from owning, possessing or having on the defendant's premises an animal or animals as determined by the court for a period of time, up to and including permanent relinquishment, as determined by the court.__A person placed on probation for a violation of this section with a condition that prohibits owning, possessing or having an animal or animals on the probationer's premises is subject to revocation of probation and removal of the animal or animals at the probationer's expense if this condition is violated.__The court, as part of the sentence, shall prohibit the defendant from owning, possessing or having on the defendant's premises an animal or animals permanently, if the defendant has been convicted of a Class C crime.__The court as part of the sentence may order, as a condition of probation, that the defendant be evaluated to determine the need for psychiatric or psychological counseling and, if it is determined appropriate by the court, to receive psychiatric or psychological counseling at the defendant's expense.__If the defendant is a juvenile, the court shall order that the juvenile be required to receive psychiatric or psychological counseling.__The parents or guardian, if they are able, shall pay for the counseling.

Sec. 18. 17 MRSA §1037, sub-§2, ¶B, as amended by PL 1997, c. 456, §18, is further amended to read:

B. Except as provided in subsection 5, shelter from inclement weather must be as follows.

(1) An artificial shelter, with a minimum of 3 sides consisting of a 4-sided structure with a floor and a waterproof roof, appropriate to the local climatic conditions for the species concerned must be provided