§32. Negligent homicide

A. Negligent homicide is either of the following:

(1) The killing of a human being by criminal negligence.

(2) The killing of a human being by a dog or other animal when the owner is reckless and criminally negligent in confining or restraining the dog or other animal.

B. The violation of a statute or ordinance shall be considered only as presumptive evidence of such negligence.

C.(1) Except as provided for in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, whoever commits the crime of negligent homicide shall be imprisoned with or without hard labor for not more than five years, fined not more than five thousand dollars, or both.

(2)(a) If the victim killed was under the age of ten years, the offender shall be imprisoned at hard labor, without benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence, for not less than two nor more than five years.

(b) If the court does not order the offender to a term of imprisonment when the following two factors are established, the court shall state, both orally and in writing at the time of sentencing, the reasons for not sentencing the offender to a term of imprisonment:

(i) The fatality was caused by a person engaged in the operation of, or in actual physical control of, any motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or other means of conveyance; and

(ii) The offender's blood alcohol concentration contributed to the fatality.

(3) If the victim was killed by a dog or other animal, the owner of the dog or other animal shall be imprisoned with or without hard labor for not more than five years or fined not more than five thousand dollars, or both.

D. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to:

(1) Any dog which is owned, or the service of which is employed, by any state or local law enforcement agency for the principal purpose of aiding in the detection of criminal activity, enforcement of laws, or apprehension of offenders.

(2) Any dog trained in accordance with the standards of a national or regional search and rescue association to respond to instructions from its handler in the search and rescue of lost or missing individuals and which dog, together with its handler, is prepared to render search and rescue services at the request of law enforcement.

(3) Any guide or service dog trained at a qualified dog guide or service school who is accompanying any blind person, visually impaired person, person who is deaf or hard of hearing, or person with any other physical disability who is using the dog as a guide or for service.

(4) Any attack made by a dog lawfully inside a dwelling, a place of business, or a motor vehicle as defined in R.S. 32:1(40), against a person who is attempting to make an unlawful entry into the dwelling, place of business, or motor vehicle, or who has made an unlawful entry into the dwelling, place of business, or motor vehicle, and the dog is protecting that property.

(5) Any attack made by livestock as defined in this Section.

E. For the purposes of this Section:

(1) "Harboring or keeping" means feeding, sheltering, or having custody over the animal for three or more consecutive days.

(2) "Livestock" means any animal except dogs and cats, bred, kept, maintained, raised, or used for profit, that is used in agriculture, aquaculture, agritourism, competition, recreation, or silvaculture, or for other related purposes or used in the production of crops, animals, or plant or animal products for market. This definition includes but is not limited to cattle, buffalo, bison, oxen, and other bovine; horses, mules, donkeys, and other equine; goats; sheep; swine; chickens, turkeys, and other poultry; domestic rabbits; imported exotic deer and antelope, elk, farm-raised white-tailed deer, farm-raised ratites, and other farm-raised exotic animals; fish, pet turtles, and other animals identified with aquaculture which are located in artificial reservoirs or enclosures that are both on privately owned property and constructed so as to prevent, at all times, the ingress and egress of fish life from public waters; any commercial crawfish from any crawfish pond; and any hybrid, mixture, or mutation of any such animal.

(3) "Owner" means any person, partnership, corporation, or other legal entity owning, harboring, or keeping any animal.

Amended by Acts 1980, No. 708, §1; Acts 1991, No. 864, §1; Acts 2008, No. 10, §1; Acts 2008, No. 451, §2, eff. June 25, 2008; Acts 2009, No. 199, §1; Acts 2014, No. 811, §6, eff. June 23, 2014; Acts 2017, No. 146, §2.