WI AB239

Extends existing protections against harassment from police and fire animals to include search and rescue dogs trained by state or nationally recognized agencies to locate lost individuals and disaster victims

Defines "search and rescue dog" as any dog trained or being trained by a state or nationally recognized search and rescue agency for locating missing persons

Establishes tiered penalties: Class B forfeiture for general violations, Class A misdemeanor for intentional or negligent harassment with knowledge the animal is a search and rescue dog

Increases penalty to Class H felony if intentional harassment causes injury to the search and rescue dog, and Class G felony if it causes death to the animal

Exempts actions necessary for training search and rescue dogs by recognized agencies from the harassment provisions