Nebraska Veterinarians @ Grassroots Animal Rights

Chapter 28 
Section 28-1017

Animal Abandonment, Cruel Neglect, or Cruel Mistreatment; Report Required by Certain Employees; Violation; Penalty.

 (1) For purposes of this section:
   (A) Reasonably suspects means a basis for reporting knowledge or a set of facts that would lead a person of ordinary care and prudence to believe and conscientiously entertain a strong suspicion that criminal activity is at hand or that a crime has been committed;
   (B) Employee means any employee of an agency relating to a governmental child or adult protective services, animal control, or animal abuse.
 
 
 (2) Any employee, while acting in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment, who observes or is involved in an incident which leads the employee to reasonably suspect that an animal has been abandoned, cruelly neglected, or cruelly mistreated shall report such to the entity or entities that investigate such reports in that jurisdiction.
 
 
 (3) The report shall be made within two working days of acquiring the information concerning the animal by facsimile transmission of a written report presented in the form described in subsection (6) of this section or by telephone. When an immediate response is necessary to protect the health and safety of the animal or others, the report shall be made by telephone as soon as possible.
 
 
 (4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to impose a duty to investigate observed or reasonably suspected animal abandonment, cruel neglect, or cruel mistreatment. Any person making a report under this section is immune from liability except for false statements of fact made with malicious intent.
 
 
 (5) Reports made pursuant to this section shall include:
   (A) The reporter’s name and title, business address, and telephone number;
   (B) The name, if known, of the animal owner or custodian, whether a business or individual;
   (C) A description of the animal or animals involved, person or persons involved, and location of the animal or animals and the premises;
   (D) The date, time, and a description of the observation or incident which led the reporter to reasonably suspect animal abandonment, cruel neglect, or cruel mistreatment and any other information the reporter believes may be relevant.
 
 
 (6) Reports made pursuant to this section may be made on preprinted forms prepared by the entity or entities that investigate reports of animal abandonment, cruel neglect, or cruel mistreatment in that jurisdiction. The form shall include space for the information required under subsection (5) of this section.
 
 
 (7) When two or more employees jointly have observed or reasonably suspected animal abandonment, cruel neglect, or cruel mistreatment and there is agreement between or among them, a report may be made by one person by mutual agreement. Any reporter who has knowledge that the person designated to report has failed to do so shall thereafter make the report.
 
 
 (8) Any employee failing to report under this section shall be guilty of an infraction.

Chapter 28

Section 28-1008

For purposes of sections 28-1008 to 28-1017 and 28-1019:
  (1) “Abandon” means to leave any animal in one’s care, whether as owner or custodian, for any length of time without making effective provision for its food, water, or other care as is reasonably necessary for the animal’s health;
  
  (2) “Animal” means any vertebrate member of the animal kingdom. The term does not include an uncaptured wild creature;
  
  (3) “Bovine” means a cow, an ox, or a bison;
  
  (4) “Cruelly Mistreat” means to knowingly and intentionally kill, maim, disfigure, torture, beat, mutilate, burn, scald, or otherwise inflict harm upon any animal;
  
  (5) “Cruelly Neglect” means to fail to provide any animal in one’s care, whether as owner or custodian, with food, water, or other care as is reasonably necessary for the animal’s health;
  
  (6) “Equine” means a horse, pony, donkey, mule, hinny, or llama;
  
  (7) “Humane Killing” means the destruction of an animal by a method which causes the animal a minimum of pain and suffering;
  
  (8) “Law Enforcement Officer” means any member of the Nebraska State Patrol, any county or deputy sheriff, any member of the police force of any city or village, or any other public official authorized by a city or village to enforce state or local animal control laws, rules, regulations, or ordinances. Law enforcement officer also includes any inspector under the Commercial Dog and Cat Operator Inspection Act to the extent that such inspector may exercise the authority of a law enforcement officer under section 28-1012 while in the course of performing inspection activities under the Commercial Dog and Cat Operator Inspection Act;
  
  (9) “Mutilation” means intentionally causing permanent injury, disfigurement, degradation of function, incapacitation, or imperfection to an animal. Mutilation does not include conduct performed by a veterinarian licensed to practice veterinary medicine and surgery in this state or conduct that conforms to accepted veterinary practices;
  
  (10) “Police Animal” means a horse or dog owned or controlled by the State of Nebraska for the purpose of assisting a Nebraska state trooper in the performance of his or her official enforcement duties;
  
  (11) “Repeated Beating” means intentional successive strikes to an animal by a person resulting in serious bodily injury or death to the animal;
  
  (12) “Serious Injury” or “Illness” includes any injury or illness to any animal which creates a substantial risk of death or which causes broken bones, prolonged impairment of health, or prolonged loss or impairment of the function of any bodily organ;
  
  (13) “Torture” means intentionally subjecting an animal to extreme pain, suffering, or agony. Torture does not include conduct performed by a veterinarian licensed to practice veterinary medicine and surgery in this state or conduct that conforms to accepted veterinary practices.