What Constitutes Animal Cruelty?

Acts of violence or neglect perpetrated against animals are considered animal cruelty. Examples include overt abuse, dog fighting and rooster fighting, and companion animals being neglected or denied basic necessities of care, such as food, water or shelter. Animal welfare organizations across the country work daily to educate people about how to care for their companion animals and how they can prevent animal cruelty.

Many people who witness, or hear about cruelty, are not aware that legal action can be taken to help stop the problem. Companion animals are primarily covered by state animal cruelty laws, which vary from state to state and county to county. These laws may be confusing to people who want to help animals in distress but are not clear on what constitutes animal cruelty.

Generally, animal cruelty can be divided into two categories: neglect and intentional cruelty:

NEGLECT is the failure to provide an animal with the most basic of requirements of food, water, shelter and veterinary care. Neglect is often the result of simple ignorance on the animal owner's part and is usually handled by requiring the owner to correct the situation.

If the problem is not corrected, the animal may be removed from the neglectful person by law enforcement authorities. In some cases, the owner will simply turn the animal over to authorities because they no longer want the responsibility.

INTENTIONAL CRUELTY is often more shocking and usually an indicator of a serious human behavior problem. Intentional cruelty is when an individual purposely inflicts physical harm or injury on an animal.

The ASPCA and other organizations with cruelty investigation authority have arrested many individuals, who have deliberately maimed, tortured or even killed animals.  Although many individuals are arrested for intentional cruelty, people who commit even the most heinous crimes against animals are often not prosecuted to the full extent of the law. In states where animal cruelty is considered a misdemeanor, individuals who commit intentional cruelty crimes against animals can receive, at most, one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Often, perpetrators receive no more than probation. Someone who is violent towards animals may be violent towards family members or other people. Animal cruelty laws vary from state to state

Many states and the District of Columbia currently have laws that make intentional cruelty a felony charge, while 12 states treat neglectful cruelty and intentional cruelty as a misdemeanor. Many animal cruelty laws specifically exclude accepted animal husbandry practices involving farm animals, animals used in research, and lawful hunting and trapping of wildlife.

Many states now require the person convicted of cruelty to undergo psychological evaluation and counseling, in addition to paying a fine or being imprisoned.

An increasing number of states are instituting cross training and reporting programs involving social service workers who are likely to see cases of animal abuse during the course of their work in domestic violence and child abuse. This development arises from the research validating the "link" between animal abuse and human violence.