(1) Any person who intentionally releases any animal which is lawfully confined for scientific, research, commercial, legal sporting, or educational purposes or for public safety purposes because the animal has been determined to be dangerous to people, has an infectious disease, or is quarantined to determine whether or not it has an infectious disease without the consent of the owner or custodian of such animal commits the offense of unauthorized release of an animal.
Unauthorized release of an animal is a class 2 misdemeanor.
Any person who is convicted of unauthorized release of an animal shall be ordered topay restitution for any damages resulting from such release, including the cost of restoring any animal to confinement, the cost of restoring the health of any animal which is released, the cost of any damage to real or personal property which is caused by a released animal, or any cost which results if the release causes the failure of an experiment, including the costs of repeating the experiment, replacement of any animal released, and the cost of labor and materials associated with such experiment.
Source: L. 92: Entire section added, p. 319, § 1, effective July 1.