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NYS Law Regarding Dogs In Pickup Trucks

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Roxabox456

Junior Member
Hello,

Feel free to move this thread if it's not in the right topic.

I live in New York, Upstate, to be more specific seeing as NYC pretty much is its own state. Anyway, today I saw a pickup truck with a trailer attached drive down a high traffic road with two pitbulls in the trailer. The trailer was not enclosed. I couldn't tell if the dogs were leashed to it at all but they looked terrified. I can't seem to find any law about whether dogs are allowed to ride in truck beds or trailers or not. I would think this would be illegal considering how unpredictable dogs are. They may jump out or even get thrown from the bed during a hard turn/braking. If there is a law about this can someone copy and paste the section of the traffic law this applies to?
 


quincy

Senior Member
Hello,

Feel free to move this thread if it's not in the right topic.

I live in New York, Upstate, to be more specific seeing as NYC pretty much is its own state. Anyway, today I saw a pickup truck with a trailer attached drive down a high traffic road with two pitbulls in the trailer. The trailer was not enclosed. I couldn't tell if the dogs were leashed to it at all but they looked terrified. I can't seem to find any law about whether dogs are allowed to ride in truck beds or trailers or not. I would think this would be illegal considering how unpredictable dogs are. They may jump out or even get thrown from the bed during a hard turn/braking. If there is a law about this can someone copy and paste the section of the traffic law this applies to?
I cannot find that New York state has a specific law (as some states do) on the need for restraints on animals in vehicles. However New York does have, under its Department of Agriculture and Markets Law, sections that apply to transporting animals.

Under Section 359, a person can be charged with a misdemeanor for carrying or causing to be carried, on vessel or in vehicle, any animal in a cruel or inhumane manner.

Here is a link to the Cruelty to Animals sections of the law: http://www.agriculture.ny.gov/ai/AILaws/Article_26_Circ_916_Cruelty_to_Animals.pdf

Your concern about dogs being thrown from open truck beds is the same concern shared by the states in the country that now have laws that require animals to be secured safely when traveling in vehicles. I think I would call the police if I saw dogs riding in the open bed of a truck. Whether this is what New York law considers "cruel and inhumane" or not, it certainly wouldn't hurt for the police to educate a driver of a pickup truck on the risk of harm s/he places the dog in by transporting the animal in that manner.
 
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You may want to look up the county law for the New York county this happened in.

Here in Florida, the law varies by county. There was a recent incident where someone captured a video of a dog traveling down I-95 on TOP of a trailer cage. The particular county he was driving though has a law requiring dogs in an open bed pickup truck or other exposed vehicle or trailer to have TWO tethers (the dog in the video only had one, so it was a violation in that county. Not all counties have the same requirements). Still hoping that this person will be charged. The public pressure and outcry from social media (resulting in local news reporters showing up at his house) has been great and well deserved. You can search for dog on top of trailer Florida to see what this idiot did.

I have also had reports of dogs falling out of the back of pickup trucks, sometimes injuring the poor dog severely. One case involved a dog that fell out and the driver did not even know it until he got home and the dog was not in the back of the truck.

Another concern is that if the dog were to fall out, that could cause a major accident.

It's always a good idea to report it when you see it.
 

quincy

Senior Member
... Here in Florida, the law varies by county ...
That would seem a nightmare to enforce, especially since people travel from one county to, and through, another with some frequency. I would think that it would be far better for the state to enact a law.

Florida does have a state law that is worded similarly to New York's, and I did find that Miami Dade County (for one) does have, in their Code of Ordinances under Chapter 5, Animals and Fowl, a law that requires a secured animal carrier or tethering if an animal rides in the bed of a truck.

And New York seems to operate the same as Florida does. At least in the Town of Byronny, there is an ordinance that requires transporting an animal "securely confined in a crate, on a tether, or so restrained within an enclosed vehicle in a safe manner consistent with the dog's good health so that it cannot be expected to escape therefrom." Here is a link to the Town of Byronny's Dog Control Law: http://www.byronny.com/documents/Dog Control Law of 2014 - FINAL.doc

Whatever the county or city or town in New York, however, making a call to the police when you see animals riding in an unsafe manner in a vehicle would be a good thing to do.
 
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HighwayMan

Super Secret Senior Member
New York has only a state Vehicle and Traffic Law. Counties, cities, towns, villages cannot enact their own traffic laws - only cities with a population in excess of one million may do so (and NYC is the only one of those).

This situation would definitely fall under the domain of the Agriculture and Markets Law (no "department" just the body of law! There IS such a department but that's not what the law is called)

It would be up to the local police/prosecutor/judges to determine whether specific statutes might apply to the situation described.

The OP could also contact his local SPCA or Human Society to report this and to get their take on whether the conduct might rise to the level of a violation of these statutes.
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
NY doesn't have the law, but you don't have to go far. CT has one.

Note, while perhaps not specifically illegal, it's not a good idea.
 

quincy

Senior Member
NY doesn't have the law, but you don't have to go far. CT has one.

Note, while perhaps not specifically illegal, it's not a good idea.
Connecticut apparently is one of at least 8 states that now have state laws that require an animal to be secured safely when transported in the open area of a vehicle (like the bed of a pickup), with "secured" generally defined as in a crate or tethered. New Hampshire's state law is perhaps the strictest when it comes to transporting animals safely - charging a misdemeanor for a first violation of the law and a felony for the second violation.

In the remaining states that have the "cruel and inhumane" laws (worded like the ones in New York state and Florida state) what is considered cruel or inhumane is often left for the officer stopping a vehicle to define.

I am still surprised by the various and assorted city (town/county) ordinances that require tethering or crating when there is no state law that requires the same. I LIKE that there are cities (towns/counties) that have taken this action but, again, I see where enforcement might create some problems.
 

HighwayMan

Super Secret Senior Member
NY also allows people to be transported in that manner.

Although in NYC there is a statute which prohibits passengers from riding in the cargo area of a vehicle.

There really should be a specific statute dealing with animals, although in almost 18 years I only saw a dog in the bed of a pickup truck once - but he was pretty well secured.

Come to think of it, I did once see a guy riding a motorcycle on the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx with a dog sitting in front of him on the gas tank and handle bars. I did a quick turn around and tried to catch him but he exited and I lost him in traffic on the street.
 

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