New South Wales Consolidated Acts

CRIMES ACT 1900 - SECT 530

530 Serious animal cruelty

(1) A person who, with the intention of inflicting severe pain--

(a) tortures, beats or commits any other serious act of cruelty on an animal, and

(b) kills or seriously injures or causes prolonged suffering to the animal,

is guilty of an offence.

: Maximum penalty--Imprisonment for 5 years.

(1A) A person who, being reckless as to whether severe pain is inflicted--

(a) tortures, beats or commits any other serious act of cruelty on an animal, and

(b) kills or seriously injures or causes prolonged suffering to the animal,

is guilty of an offence.

: Maximum penalty--Imprisonment for 3 years.

(2) A person is not criminally responsible for an offence against this section if--

(a) the conduct occurred in accordance with an authority conferred by or under the Animal Research Act 1985 or any other Act or law, or

(b) the conduct occurred in the course of or for the purposes of routine agricultural or animal husbandry activities, recognised religious practices, the extermination of pest animals or veterinary practice.

(3) In this section--

"animal" means a mammal (other than a human being), a bird or a reptile.

"kill or seriously injure" an animal includes, in the case where the animal is used as a lure or kill in the manner referred to in section 21 (1) (d) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 , cause or permit a dog to kill or seriously injure the animal.

"serious act of cruelty" on an animal includes the act of using the animal as a lure or kill in the manner referred to in section 21 (1) (d) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 .

Note--: Sections 97- 99 of the Greyhound Racing Act 2017 enable the court that convicts a person of an offence under this section in connection with the trialling or training of greyhounds to make certain orders requiring the animal to be destroyed, requiring payment of the costs of destroying or taking other action in respect of the animal and prohibiting the person from keeping any animal.