764

LAWS OF MARYLAND

Ch. 255

years, and it is mandatory upon the court to impose no less than
the minimum sentence of 1 year; provided, however, that if it
shall appear from the evidence that the handgun was worn,
carried, or transported on any public school property in this
State, the court shall impose a sentence of imprisonment of not
less than three years.

(iii) If the person has previously been convicted
more than once of unlawfully wearing, carrying, or transporting a
handgun in violation of [§ 36B] THIS SECTION, or of unlawfully
using a handgun in the commission of a crime in violation of
subsection (d) of this section, or of unlawfully carrying a
concealed weapon in violation of § 36 of this article, or of
unlawfully carrying a deadly weapon on public school property in
violation of § 36A of this article, or any combination thereof,
he shall be sentenced to the Maryland Division of Correction for
a term of not less than three years nor more than 10 years, and
it is mandatory upon the court to impose no less than the minimum
sentence of three years; provided, however, that if it shall
appear from the evidence that the handgun was worn, carried, or
transported on any public school property in this State, the
court shall impose a sentence of imprisonment of not less than 5
years.

59.

Any person who (1) overdrives, overloads, deprives of
necessary sustenance, tortures, torments, cruelly beats,
mutilates or cruelly kills; or (2) causes, procures or authorizes
these acts; or (3) having the charge or custody of an animal,
either as owner or otherwise, inflicts unnecessary suffering or
pain upon the animal, or unnecessarily fails to provide the
animal with nutritious food in sufficient quantity, necessary
veterinary care, proper drink, air, space, shelter or protection
from the weather, or uses or permits to be used any bird, fowl,
or cock for the purpose of fighting with any other [animal]
ANIMAL, which is commonly known as cockfighting, is guilty of a
misdemeanor and shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding
$1,000 or by imprisonment not to exceed 90 days, or both.
Customary and normal veterinary and agricultural husbandry
practices including but not limited to dehorning, castration,
docking tails, and limit feeding, are not covered by the
provisions of this section. In the case of activities in which
physical pain may unavoidably be caused to animals, such as food
processing, pest elimination, animal training, and hunting,
cruelty shall mean a failure to employ the most humane method
reasonably available. It is the intention of the General Assembly
that all animals shall be protected from intentional cruelty, but
that no person shall be liable for criminal prosecution for
normal human activities to which the infliction of pain to an
animal is purely incidental and unavoidable.

145.