State	Classification of crime	Max. Fine	Max. Imprisonment Punishment
Alabama § 13A-11-14 Cruelty to animals - Dogfighting § 3-1-29, - Cockfighting §13A-12-4	Class B Misdemeanor	$1,000	6 months
Alaska § 11.61.140 et seq.** Cruelty to animals	Class A Misdemeanor	$5,000	1 year
Arizona § 13-2910 et seq.* Cruelty to animals or poultry Intentionally interferes with, kills or harms a working service animal without either legal privilege or consent of the owner	Class 1 Misdemeanor Class 6 Felony	$1,000 $150,000	6 months 1 year
Arkansas § 5-62-101 et seq.* Cruelty to animals	Class A Misdemeanor	$1,000	1 year
California Penal § 597 et seq.** General cruelty to animals Cruelty to endangered or protected animals, Malicious or intentional cruelty to animals	Misdemeanor Felony	$1,000 $20,000	6 months State prison or 1 year in county jail
Colorado § 18-9-201 et seq.** Cruelty to animals - Colorado statutes contain a second offense provision requiring a mandatory sentence	Class 1 Misdemeanor	$5,000	18 months
Connecticut § 53-247 et seq.** Cruelty to animals	Defined in statute
Delaware § 11-1325 et seq.** Cruelty to animals Intentional or causes severe injury	Class A Misdemeanor Class F Felony	$1,000 Fine determined by the court	2 years 3 years
District of Columbia § 22-801 et seq.** General cruelty - § 32-908 Authorizes the Washington Humane Society to extend its operations to the protection of children from cruelty and abuse	Defined in statute	$250	6 months

Florida § 828.12 et seq.** Cruelty to animals Intentional cruelty	1st Degree Misdemeanor 3rd Degree Felony	$5,000 $10,000	1 year 5 years
Georgia § 16-12-4 Cruelty to animals - Georgia statutes contain a second offense provision, a violation is a Misdemeanor in the First Degree - Dogfighting § 16-12-37, Cockfighting regulated by general cruelty and general gambling, according to case law - Cruelty specific to dogs § 4-8-5	Misdemeanor	$1,000	1 year
Hawaii § 711-1109 et seq.** Cruelty to animals	Misdemeanor	$2,000	1 year
Idaho § 25-3501 et seq.** Committing cruelty to animals	Misdemeanor 2nd offense 3rd offense	$5,000 for 1st offense $7,000 $9,000	6 months 9 months 1 year
Illinois § 510 ILCS 70/1 et seq.** .301 Cruel treatment Aggravated Cruelty - Illinois statutes contain second and third offense provisions, a second offense is a Class B Misdemeanor and a third offense is a Class C Misdemeanor	Class C Misdemeanor Class A Misdemeanor	$500 $1,000	30 days 1 year
Indiana § 35-46-3-1 et seq.** Torturing or killing vertebrate animal Abandonment or neglect of vertebrate animals	Class A Misdemeanor Class B Misdemeanor	$5,000 $1,000	1 year 180 days
Iowa § 717B et seq.** Animal abuse Animal neglect - negligently Animal neglect - intentionally Abandonment of a cat or dog	Aggravated Misdemeanor Simple Misdemeanor Serious Misdemeanor Simple Misdemeanor	$5,000 $100 $1,500 $100	2 years 30 days 1 year 30 days
Kansas § 21-4310 et seq.* Cruelty to animals	Class B Nonperson Misdemeanor	$1,000	6 months
Kentucky § 525.125 et seq.* Cruelty to animals in the second degreee	Class A Misdemeanor	$500	1 year
Louisiana § 14:102 et seq.* Simple cruelty to animals or abandonment Aggravated cruelty to animals - § 14-2 defines any sentence containing "hard labor"	Defined in statute Defined in statute	$1,000 $25,000	6 months 10 years

Maine 17 § 1031 et seq.** Cruelty to animals Cruelty to birds - Maine has both criminal and civil statutes concerning animal cruelty - the penalty for civil violation (7 § 4011) is a fine of up to $1,000 and other relief to the animal as needed	Class D Crime Class E Crime	$2,000 $1,000	1 year 6 months
Maryland Art. 27, § 59 et seq.** Cruelty to animals Intentional mutilation or cruel killing Abandonment Injuring of a race horse	Misdemeanor Misdemeanor Misdemeanor Felony	$1,000 $5,000 $100	90 days 3 years 3 years
Massachusetts 272 § 77 et seq.** Cruelty to animals Malicious killing or injury (266 § 122) - 24 § 1 defines a crime punishable by death or imprisonment in the state prison as a felony. All other crimes are misdemeanors	Defined in statute Defined in statute	$1,000 $1,000	1 year 1 year in jail or 5 years in state penitentiary
Michigan § 28.245 et seq.** General cruelty to animals Malicious cruelty to animals	Misdemeanor Felony	$1,000 $5,000	93 days 4 years
Minnesota § 343.20 et seq.** Poisoning animals Overworking or mistreating animals, Cruelty in transportation - Minnesota statutes contain a second and subsequent offense provision, a violation is a Gross Misdemeanor - § 346.37 subd. 6 requires veterinarians to report cruelty	Gross Misdemeanor Misdemeanor	$3,000 $700	1 year 90 days
Mississippi § 97-41-1 et seq.** Living creatures not to be cruelly treated, Carrying creature in a cruel manner, Confining creatures without food or water, Failure of owner to provide sustenance Malicious or mischievous injury to livestock Malicious or mischievous injury to dog Poisons: administering to animals	Misdemeanor Felony Misdemeanor Defined in statute	$100 $10,000 $1,000 $500	100 days 5 years 6 months 3 years in State
Missouri § 578.005 et seq.** Animal neglect Animal abuse Animal abuse as a result of torture and mutilation - Missouri statutes contain second and subsequent offense provisions for animal neglect, a violation is a Class B Misdemeanor	Class C Misdemeanor (All fines and penalties for first conviction of animal neglect may be waived if remedies for neglect have been made) Class A Misdemeanor Class D Felony	$300 $1,000 $5,000	15 days 1 year 5 years
Montana § 45-8-209** Cruelty to animals Injure or kill a commonly domesticated hoofed animal - Montana statutes contain a second and subsequent offense provisions, a violation is punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000 or a state prison term not to exceed 2 years, or both	Defined in statute Defined in statute	$500 $50,000	6 months 10 years
Nebraska § 28-1008 et seq.** Cruelty to animals - Nebraska statutes contain a subsequent offense provision, a violation is a Class I Misdemeanor	Class II Misdemeanor	$1,000	6 months
Nevada § 574.050 et seq.** Overdriving, torturing, selling diseased animal, injuring or abandoning animals; failure to provide proper sustenance, keeping animal in unhealthy place Poisoning, noxious drug, or substance Poisoning horse, mule, or cattle	Misdemeanor Gross Misdemeanor Class C Felony	$1,000 $2,000 $10,000	6 months 1 year 5 years

New Hampshire § 644:8 et seq.** Cruelty to animals Cruelly whips, tortures or mutilates any animal - New Hampshire statutes contain a second and subsequent offense provision for general cruelty, a violation is a Class B Felony	Misdemeanor Class B Felony	$2,000 $6,000	1 year 6 years
New Jersey § 4:22-15 et seq.** Cruelty in general, overdrive torture, mutilate, kill, failure to provide proper sustenance - New Jersey statutes provide for civil remedies also	Disorderly Person	$1,000	6 months
New Mexico § 30-18-1 et seq.* Cruelty to animals Injury to animals Malicious slaughter of a canine	Petty Misdemeanor Misdemeanor Misdemeanor	$500 $1,000 $2,500	6 months 1 year 1 year
New York AG&M § 350 et seq.** General cruelty	Misdemeanor	$1,000	1 year
North Carolina § 14-360 et seq.** Cruelty to animals Abandonment - Civil relief provided in § 19A-1	Class 1 Misdemeanor Class 2 Misdemeanor	$1,500 $1,000	2 years 2 years
North Dakota § 36-21.1-01 et seq.** Overworking or mistreating animals	Class A Misdemeanor	$1,000	1 year
Ohio § 959.01 et seq.** Cruelty to animals Abandoning animals Injuring animals - value of animal less than $300 - value of animal more than $300 Poisoning animals - Officer or agent of Ohio Humane Society may remove a child if deemed to be in cruel surroundings	Misdemeanor in the 2nd degree Minor Misdemeanor Misdemeanor in the 2nd degree Misdemeanor in the 4th degree	$750 $100 $750 $1,000 $250	90 days 90 days 6 months 30 days
Oklahoma 21 § 1680 et seq.** Cruelty to animals Transit, abandon, poison - 21 § 5 defines a felony as a crime which is, or may be, punishable with death, or by imprisonment in the State Penitentiary	Defined in statute Misdemeanor	$500 $500	5 years in penitentiary or 1 year in jail 1 year
Oregon § 167.310 et seq.** Animal abuse in the first degree Animal abuse in the second degree Animal neglect in the first degree Animal neglect in the second degree Animal abandonment Aggravated animal abuse in the first degree	Class A Misdemeanor Class B Misdemeanor Class A Misdemeanor Class B Misdemeanor Class C Misdemeanor Class C Felony	$5,000 $2,000 $5,000 $2,000 $1,000 $100,000	1 year 6 months 1 year 6 months 30 days 5 years
Pennsylvania 18 § 5511** Cruelty to animals Killing, maiming or poisoning a domestic animal Killing, maiming, disfiguring a zoo animal - Pennsylvania statutes contain a subsequent offense provision for killing, maiming or poisoning, a violation is a Third degree Felony	Summary Offense Second Degree Misdemeanor Third degree Felony	$750 $1,000 $15,000	90 days 2 years 7 years
Rhode Island § 4-1-1 et seq.** Overwork of, mistreatment of, or failure to feed animals, abandonment of infirm animals Unnecessary cruelty Malicious injury or killing of animals	Misdemeanor Misdemeanor Defined in statute	$500 $500 $1,000	11 months 11 months 2 years

South Carolina § 47-1-10 et seq. Ill-treatment of animals, animal neglect Abandonment of animals Tortures, torments, needlessly mutilates, cruelly kills or inflicts excessive or repeated unnecessary pain Malicious injury to animals and other personal property Felony - Animal fighting § 47-3-740, § 16-27-10 et seq. - South Carolina statutes contain second and third offense provisions for ill treatment, penalties for violations range up to 2 years in jail and $2,000 fine	Class A 1st offense Class B Misdemeanor Misdemeanor Misdemeanor to Felony	$400 $500 $5,000 Discretion of the court	60 days 60 days 2 years 10 years
South Dakota § 40-1-1 et seq.** Inhumane treatment, poison an animal	Class 1 Misdemeanor	$1,000	1 year
Tennessee § 39-14-201 et seq.** Cruelty to animals Intentional killing of animal	Class A Misdemeanor Considered theft (ranges from Class A Misdemeanor to Class B Felony)	$2,500 $2500 to $300,000	11 months, 29 days 11 months to 12 years
Texas Penal § 42.09** Cruelty to animals Also provide civil remedies Title 7, Article 182	Class A Misdemeanor	$4,000	1 year
Utah § 76-9-301 et seq.** Intentionally or knowingly kills, poisons or tortures Recklessly kills, poisons or tortures Kills, poisons or tortures with crimjnal negligence Intentionally or knowingly fails to provide food, water shelter; abandons animal; transports or confines in a cruel manner; injures animal Recklessly or with criminal negligence as above A prior conviction allows for increased penalties	Class A Misdemeanor Class B Misdeamoner Class C Misdemeanor Class B Misdemeanor Class C Misdemeanor Class C to B Class B to A	$2,500 $1,000 $750 $1,000 $750	1 year 6 months 90 days 6 months 90 days
Vermont 13 § 351 et seq.** Cruelty to animals Cruelty to poultry	Defined in statute	$2,000 $250	1 year subsequent offense provision
Virginia § 3.1-796.122 ** Cruelty to animals Abandonment	Class 1 Misdemeanor Class 3 Misdemeanor	$2,500 $500	12 months none
Washington § 16.52.011 et seq.** Animal cruelty in the first degree Animal cruelty in the second degree Poisoning animals	Class C Felony Misdemeanor Gross Misdemeanor	$10,000 $1,000 $1,000	5 years 90 days 2 years probation
West Virginia § 61-8-19 et seq.** Cruelty to animals Malicious killing of animals by poison or otherwise - value of animal over $100 - value of animal under $100 - West Virginia statutes contain second and subsequent offense provisions, a violation is a Misdemeanor and requires the defendant to undergo psychological evaluation - § 7-10-4A requires veterinarians to report cruelty and neglect	Misdemeanor Felony Misdemeanor	$1,000 $500	6 months 3 months
Wisconsin § 951.01 et seq.** Mistreating animals, Not providing proper shelter, Animals neglected or abandoned Intentional cruelty resulting in mutilation, disfigurement or death	Class C Forfeiture to Class A Misdemeanor Class E Felony	$500 to $10,000 $10,000	None to 9 months 2 years

Wyoming § 6-3-203, § 11-31-104** Cruelty to animals Poisoning or killing with ground glass - Wyoming statutes contain a second offense provision, a violation is a High Misdemeanor

Misdemeanor Misdemeanor

$750 $1,000

6 months 1 year