An Act to amend 951.095 (title), 951.095 (1) (intro.), 951.095 (2) (b) and 951.18 (2m); to create 951.01 (4s) of the statutes; Relating to: harassment of search and rescue dogs and providing a penalty.
Summary
AB239 expands Wisconsin’s animal-harassment law to explicitly cover search and rescue dogs, in addition to animals used by law enforcement agencies and fire departments. The bill creates a statutory definition of “search and rescue dog” as a dog trained or being trained by a state or nationally recognized search and rescue agency to locate missing persons or disaster victims.
The bill amends the title and operative language of s. 951.095 so that it is unlawful to harass a search and rescue dog, and it updates the training exception to include work done for state or nationally recognized search and rescue agencies. It also revises the penalty section in s. 951.18(2m) so that violations involving a search and rescue dog are punished the same way as violations involving police or fire animals: a Class B forfeiture for a violation, a Class A misdemeanor for intentional or negligent violations with knowledge of the animal’s status, a Class H felony if the conduct is intentional and causes injury, and a Class G felony if it causes death.
Impact
AB239 changes Wisconsin statutes by adding search and rescue dogs to the list of protected working animals under s. 951.095 and by defining that term in s. 951.01. The practical effect is to extend criminal and forfeiture penalties to people who harass, injure, or kill these dogs while they are performing or training for official search and rescue functions, and to align their legal protection with that already provided to police and fire animals.
Sentiment
The available record shows no committee transcript, recorded votes, or opposition in the provided materials, so there is no documented debate to indicate controversy. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears straightforward and protective, with an apparent policy goal of supporting public safety and emergency response operations by safeguarding search and rescue dogs.
Contention
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided context. If any concerns were raised, they are not reflected in the available transcripts or voting history. Potential issues that could arise in general with this type of bill would be the scope of the definition of search and rescue dog, the knowledge requirement for enhanced penalties, and whether the penalties are proportionate, but none of these are shown as disputed in the record provided.
Crossfiled
An Act to amend 951.095 (title), 951.095 (1) (intro.), 951.095 (2) (b) and 951.18 (2m); to create 951.01 (4s) of the statutes; Relating to: harassment of search and rescue dogs and providing a penalty.