The Secretary or any officer of the Agency designated by the Secretary may file with the court in which a person was convicted of violating section 3911 of this chapter a petition for custody of animals in the possession of the person convicted. If the court, on due notice to that person and to any other person owning or having any interest in the animals, finds that the welfare of any of the animals so requires, the court shall order the animals committed to the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets. Animals committed to the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets may be sold or euthanized or kept in the custody of the Agency, as the Secretary determines. (Added 1971, No. 27, § 5, eff. March 24, 1971; amended 1989, No. 256 (Adj. Sess.), § 10(a), eff. Jan. 1, 1991; 2003, No. 42, § 2, eff. May 27, 2003; 2013, No. 30, § 6.)