Animal Protection Laws of the United States of America
Animal Protection Laws of the United States of America are the top resources for lawyers, law professors, law students, legislators, other legal professionals, and anyone who wants the most comprehensive animal protection laws collection of its kind available.
Documents in the Animal Protection Laws compendiums contain the general animal protection and related statutes for all of the states and territories of the United States of America
Click on each state to download the related report.
Puerto Rico
Guam
Virgin Islands
American Samoa
Northern Mariana Islands
Read the 2017 State Rankings Summary Report.
Download the U.S. compendium as a .zip file with every state’s laws.
Each document begins with a detailed overview of the provisions contained in these laws, followed by the full text of the statutes themselves. The various provisions are organized into categories. Within the first thirteen of these categories, the relevant part of each statute is italicized. The last category provides a non-italicized version of each of the previously referenced statutes, in numerical order. The penalties and related provisions for categories 12 and 13 are generally located within each of those respective sections.
Some jurisdictions may employ similar provisions within other non-animal-specific criminal and civil statutes; may have other more specific statutes in addition to those included; and may have a variety of animal-related regulations in effect.
Because the law is continually evolving, always review an official source for the most current language of any statute.
Categories presented in a quick reference table and full-text statutory sections:
- General prohibitions
- Animals covered by definition
- Classification of crimes
- Penalties (including a table of maximum penalties)
- Exemptions
- Counseling / Evaluations
- Protective Orders
- Restitution / Reimbursement of Costs / Bonding & Liens
- Seizure / On-site Supervision
- Forfeiture / Possession
- Cross Enforcement / Reporting
- Veterinarian Reporting / Immunity
- Law Enforcement Policies
- Sexual Assault
- Fighting
- Full-text of all referenced statutes
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Washington State Supreme Court Rules Animal Cruelty Can Be a Crime of Domestic Violence
On February 8, 2022, the Washington State Supreme Court issued a decision in the case State v. Charmarke Abdi-Issa, holding that animal cruelty could be designated a crime of domestic violence, and that an animal’s guardian could be considered a victim of the crime.March 9, 2022 News
