THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. Section 370 of the agriculture and markets law, as added by chapter 1047 of the laws of 1965, is amended to read as follows:

S 370. [Protection  of  the  public from attack by] PROHIBITION OF THE OWNERSHIP, POSSESSION OR HARBORING OF wild  animals  and  reptiles.  Any person  owning, possessing or harboring a wild animal or reptile capable of inflicting bodily harm upon a human being [, who shall fail  to  exercise due care in safeguarding the public from attack by such wild animal or reptile,] is guilty of a [misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for not  more  than  one  year,  or  by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, or by both] CLASS E FELONY AS DEFINED BY THE PENAL  LAW.    FOR THE  PURPOSES  OF THIS SECTION, "[Wild] WILD animal" [within the meaning of this section, shall not include  a  dog  or  cat  or  other  domestic animal]  IS  DEFINED  IN ACCORDANCE TO PARAGRAPH E OF SUBDIVISION SIX OF SECTION 11-0103 OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION LAW.

Previous attacks upon a human being by such wild animal or reptile, or knowledge of the vicious propensities of such wild animal or reptile, on the part of the possessor or harborer thereof, shall not be required  to be  proven  by  the people upon a prosecution hereunder; and neither the fact that such wild animal or reptile  has  not  previously  attacked  a human  being,  nor lack of knowledge of the vicious propensities of such wild animal or reptile on the part of the owner, possessor  or  harborer thereof shall constitute a defense to a prosecution hereunder.

S 2. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.

EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted.