Animal cruelty
violations cannot be prosecuted when the statute of limitations has expired.
Man has a widespread affinity for his fellow mammals, one that extends to the legal realm with laws forbidding animal cruelty. It's difficult to generalize about animal cruelty statutes as they vary from state to state, but generally, such laws apply to the unnecessary infliction of pain or suffering on an animal. Scientific and medical reasons are exempted from the scope of the law.
Virginia
Regarding animal cruelty, the Virginia statute of limitations is five years. In the case of the unlawful sale of animals, birds and fish, the statute is three years. The latter law stipulates that "any person who offers for sale, sells, offers to purchase, or purchases any wild bird or wild animal, or any part thereof, or any freshwater fish, shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor." The Virginia animal cruelty laws cover general cruelty (including torture), abandonment and neglect.
California
In California, the statute of limitations on a cruelty to animals charge is four years. The California law covers poisoning, abandonment, and improper or abusive confinement of animals. Depending on the offense, animal cruelty laws are classified as either felonies, misdemeanors or both.
Florida
In Florida, the animal cruelty statute of limitations is five years. The law states that an individual is guilty if he "unnecessarily overloads, overdrives, torments, deprives of necessary sustenance or shelter, or unnecessarily mutilates, or kills any animal." The law also includes a provision for organizing dogfights or other animal fighting. Abuse that results in the death of an animal is a felony in Florida.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin animal cruelty law mandates that animals be given proper shelter, food and water. It forbids abusive transport of animals. The statute of limitations is 10 years.
Colorado
Cruelty to animals in Colorado occurs when an individual "knowingly or with criminal negligence overdrives, overloads, overworks, tortures, torments, deprives of necessary sustenance, unnecessarily or cruelly beats, needlessly mutilates, needlessly kills, carries or confines in or upon any vehicle in a cruel or reckless manner, or otherwise mistreats or neglects any animal." Abandoning a dog or cat (but not other animals) also falls under the law. The statute of limitations is eight years.
Maryland
In Maryland, the statute of limitations for cruelty to animals is four years in all cases except where an animal is killed, in which case the statute of limitations is extended to seven years.
States Without Animal Cruelty Laws
Not all jurisdictions in the country have animal cruelty laws on the books. Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota and Mississippi have no legal prohibitions against cruelty to animals. Many states only enacted their laws since the turn of the 21st century, including Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Washington and New Mexico.
Model Laws
The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) proposes "model laws" to serve as state guidelines. The ALDF recommends classifying a range of offenses as animal cruelty, including first and second degree animal abuse, animal neglect, animal fighting and animal abandonment, and suggests giving certain authorities, such as firefighters and veterinarians, immunity for reporting incidents of cruelty. The ALDF also suggests creating an online offender registration and community notification program.
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