N.Y. Agric. & Mkts. Law § 353

§ 353. Overdriving, torturing and injuring animals; failure to provide\nproper sustenance. A person who overdrives, overloads, tortures or\ncruelly beats or unjustifiably injures, maims, mutilates or kills any\nanimal, whether wild or tame, and whether belonging to himself or to\nanother, or deprives any animal of necessary sustenance, food or drink,\nor neglects or refuses to furnish it such sustenance or drink, or\ncauses, procures or permits any animal to be overdriven, overloaded,\ntortured, cruelly beaten, or unjustifiably injured, maimed, mutilated or\nkilled, or to be deprived of necessary food or drink, or who wilfully\nsets on foot, instigates, engages in, or in any way furthers any act of\ncruelty to any animal, or any act tending to produce such cruelty, is\nguilty of a class A misdemeanor and for purposes of paragraph (b) of\nsubdivision one of section 160.10 of the criminal procedure law, shall\nbe treated as a misdemeanor defined in the penal law.\n Nothing herein contained shall be construed to prohibit or interfere\nwith any properly conducted scientific tests, experiments or\ninvestigations, involving the use of living animals, performed or\nconducted in laboratories or institutions, which are approved for these\npurposes by the state commissioner of health. The state commissioner of\nhealth shall prescribe the rules under which such approvals shall be\ngranted, including therein standards regarding the care and treatment of\nany such animals. Such rules shall be published and copies thereof\nconspicuously posted in each such laboratory or institution. The state\ncommissioner of health or his duly authorized representative shall have\nthe power to inspect such laboratories or institutions to insure\ncompliance with such rules and standards. Each such approval may be\nrevoked at any time for failure to comply with such rules and in any\ncase the approval shall be limited to a period not exceeding one year.\n