ALBANY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) — Body art is not for animals, at least not in New York.

It will soon be a crime to pierce or tattoo your companion animal anywhere in the state.

The new law signed Monday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo takes effect in 120 days.

“This is animal abuse, pure and simple,” Cuomo said in a news release. “I’m proud to sign this common sense legislation and end these cruel and unacceptable practices in New York once and for all.”

Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, a Manhattan Democrat who sponsored the legislation, says the practice is simply cruel.

“While people can decide whether they would like to undergo the pain associated with a tattoo or piercing, animals do not have that luxury,” she said in the release issued by Cuomo’s office. “Subjecting animals to painful cosmetic procedures, such as tattooing and piercing, merely to satisfy an individual’s misguided and selfish aesthetic predilections, is inhumane and should be considered cruelty by the law.”

The law makes an exception for markings done under a veterinarian’s supervision for a medical reason or identification.

Rosenthal said that’s intended, for example, for pets like her cat which was spayed by a vet and given a little green mark to show it.

Penalties for violations range up to 15 days in jail and fines up to $250, Cuomo said.

The bill was introduced following reports of the sale of so-called “gothic kittens” that had piercings on their necks and back, and of a Brooklyn tattoo artist who tattooed his dog.

You May Also Be Interested In These Stories

[display-posts category=”news” posts_per_page=”4″]

(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)