(1) A person is guilty of assault on a service animal in the first degree when, without legal justification or lawful authority:
(a) He or she intentionally kills or causes serious physical injury to a service animal;

Attorney's Note

Under the Kentucky Statutes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class D felonybetween 1 and 5 yearsbetween $1,000 and $10,000
For details, see § 532.060

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Terms Used In Kentucky Statutes 525.200

  • Animal: includes every warm-blooded living creature except a human being. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010
  • Service animal: includes a:
    (a) "Bomb detection dog" which means a dog that is trained to locate bombs or explosives by scent. See Kentucky Statutes 525.010

(b) He or she intentionally causes physical injury to a service animal by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument; or
(c) He or she wantonly causes serious physical injury to a service animal by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument.
(2) For the purposes of this section, “service animal” has the same meaning as in KRS
525.010, except that “service animal” does not include assistance dogs as in KRS
525.010(6)(i).
(3) Assault on a service animal in the first degree is a Class D felony.
Effective: June 29, 2023
History: Amended 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 169, sec. 2, effective June 29, 2023. — Amended
2017 Ky. Acts ch. 29, sec. 1, effective June 29, 2017. — Created 1998 Ky. Acts ch.
419, sec. 2, effective July 15, 1998.