Animal Cruelty (also known as "Animal Abuse" or "Animal Neglect") in California, especially in Los Angeles, is a serious offense. California has some of the most comprehensive Animal Cruelty laws in the United States. If you have been charged with Animal Cruelty, Animal Abuse or Animal Neglect, you should take the charges seriously. A conviction for cruelty to animals can result not only in a felony criminal record but also county jail or even state prison time.
Due to the general lack of funding and prison overcrowding, many cases are settled through a plea agreement, and qualified counseling, combined with volunteer work as well as donations to qualified animal rescue groups, serve as alternatives to incarceration and fines.
California Court Programs ("CCR") is a California pioneer in providing certified counseling for animal cruelty, abuse and neglect. The management of CCR stays in continuous communications with California courts, prosecutors, probation officers and defense attorneys to provide alternatives to incarceration and put the emphasis on rehabilitation through counseling, as we believe that animal cruelty is another expression of violence afflicting our society, in many ways similar in its origins to child abuse and domestic violence. We encourage use of serious counseling as this is a serious issue and if not addressed by professionals and dealt with through punishment of jail and/or fines, may lead to further exhibition of antisocial behavior.
In California, Animal Cruelty is prohibited by a variety of laws designed to protect domesticated pets, stray dogs, cats, and other animals, wild animals and farm animals. There are several dozen laws in California that prohibit animal abuse and mistreatment of animals. The primary Animal Cruelty law is found in California Penal Code Section 597. This law strictly prohibits:
- Maliciously and intentionally maiming, wounding, torturing, or mutilating a living animal or maliciously and intentionally killing an animal;
- Without malice or intentional conduct, overworking, overdriving, torturing, tormenting, depriving of the necessary food and drink or shelter, or cruelly beating, mutilating or killing any animal, or subjecting any animal to needless suffering, or driving, riding or otherwise using an animal that is unfit for labor; and
- Maliciously and intentionally maiming, mutilating, or torturing any mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, or fish of an endangered or threatened species or fully protected birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians or fish.
In addition to the general activities described in California Penal Code 597, a number of additional specific acts of animal cruelty are described in other parts of the California Penal Code, for example:
- Poisoning Animals (Penal Code 596)
- Dog Fighting (Penal Code 597.5)
- Declawing an exotic or native wild cat (Penal Code 597.6)
- Leaving an animal in an unattended car where the conditions could endanger the animal’s health or well-being (Penal Code 597.7)
- Transporting animals in an inhumane manner (Penal Code 597a)
- Staging animal fighting for amusement (Penal Code 597 b)
- Intentionally tripping horses (Penal Code 597g)
- Attaching a live animal to a devise for the purpose of getting a dog to chase it (Penal Code 597h)
- Failing to provide reasonable care to animals in pet stores (Penal Code 597l)
- Cockfighting (Penal Code 597b, 597c, 597i, 597j)
- Using a bristle bur, tack bur, or other like device on a horse or other animal (Penal Code 597k)
- Bullfighting (Penal Code 597m)
- Shortening the tail of a horse or cattle (“docking”) (Penal Code 597n)
- Failing to appropriately transport animals to slaughter (Penal Code 597o)
- Willfully abandoning an animal (Penal Code 597s)
- Confining an animal without space to exercise, or using a leash rope or chain which may entangle the animal, to restrict the animal without access to adequate shelter, food and water (Penal Code 597t)
- Transporting disabled horses, ponies, burros or donkeys for slaughter out of state (Penal Code 597x)
- Selling dogs younger than eight (8) weeks old (Penal Code 597z).
Prosecutors have the discretion to file a crime under general animal cruelty abuse and neglect provision of Penal Code 597z, or under the specific prohibitions of Penal Code 596, 597a-z, and 597.1-600.5. Depending on the seriousness of the case, the defendant's criminal history and the law under which the crime is prosecuted, animal cruelty can be charged as an infraction, a misdemeanor or a felony. Conviction for misdemeanor animal cruelty can result in one (1) year of county jail and up to $20,000 in fines.
Conviction for a felony animal cruelty can result in sixteen (16) months to three (3) years in state prison and up to $20,000 in fines. If a deadly or dangerous weapon is used to commit the crime, an additional year can be added to the prison sentence. If a defendant has two (2) prior violent felony ("strike") convictions, a conviction for animal cruelty can be the third strike, which results in a sentence of 25 years to life. In addition, to the jail and fines, the animal may be permanently confiscated and the defendant could be required to pay the cost related to the housing of the animal from the time it was seized until the time of conviction.
In Los Angeles prosecutors are aggressively charging individuals who are suspected of cruelty to animals. The Los Angeles Animal Cruelty Task force (ACTF) has made dozens of arrests involving animal abuse since its formation in 2005. Additionally, a designated Los Angeles 24-hour tip line for reporting dog fighting offers rewards of up to $5,000. With these resources, incentives and recent high profile cases animal cruelty suspects can expect to face experienced prosecutors who are motivated to obtain felony convictions.
Do not take this matter lightly. Only through counseling you can fully realize the downside potential of this behavior and enact true changes in your life.