Animal cruelty is a crime in every state.
Every U.S. state treats animal cruelty as a criminal offence, and every state has felony cruelty provisions — though what conduct qualifies, and at what threshold, varies considerably. Below is a directory of each state's consolidated cruelty statutes, maintained by the Animal Legal & Historical Center at Michigan State University College of Law. We link rather than reproduce, because these laws change and their reference is kept current.
This directory is provided for general information. It is not legal advice, and petOffenders is not a law firm. If you need to know whether specific conduct is a crime where you live, contact your local law enforcement, animal control, or an attorney licensed in your state.
Directory verified as of July 2026. Reviewed annually against Michigan State University’s statutory-amendment table.
Every state, and the District of Columbia
Each link opens that state’s consolidated cruelty statutes at the Animal Legal & Historical Center, which publishes the date it last checked each one. petOffenders takes reports from anywhere in the United States, so this directory is the whole country — the state where the conduct happened is the state whose law applies, and Louisiana below is one row among fifty-one.
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Louisiana
The operator’s home jurisdiction, and the only one whose citations we publish directly — because it is the one we can commit to re-checking whenever the legislature adjourns. Every citation below was verified against Michigan State’s reference and cross-checked independently. For every other state, the maintained link above is the citation.
| Provision | Citation | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Consolidated cruelty statutes | La. R.S. 3:2361–2367; La. R.S. 14:102 et seq. | The full body of Louisiana cruelty law. MSU last checked October 2025. |
| Cruelty to animals; simple and aggravated | La. R.S. 14:102.1 | The operative charging provision. Simple cruelty covers failure to provide proper food, drink, shelter or veterinary care, and abandonment. Aggravated cruelty carries 1–10 years. |
| Reporting of neglect or abuse of animals | La. R.S. 14:403.6 | Requires certain officers and government employees who investigate child or adult abuse to report animal abuse they encounter. MSU last checked September 2025. |
Louisiana R.S. 14:403.6 requires certain officers and government employees investigating child or adult abuse to report animal abuse they encounter. Animal cruelty rarely stands alone, and the law already recognises it — which is the connection this registry exists to make visible.
Who may, and who must, report
Whether a veterinarian must report suspected cruelty — and whether they are granted civil immunity for doing so — varies by state. If you are a clinic, check your own state's rule before acting on anything you read here.