Alabama Animal Advocates

Animal Cruelty Laws in Alabama

Most of us will either witness or develop some personal knowledge of animal cruelty, abuse, or neglect in our lifetimes. It can be the dog who lives outside on a chain 365 days a year without adequate shelter. It can be the injured cat abandoned in a parking lot and left to die. Perhaps it is the neighbor next door who has dozens of animals living in filth and receiving no human attention at all.

The obvious questions become, What can I do to help? How can I stop this? The answers can be elusive and can vary depending on what has happened and where.

A first step is to familiarize yourself with Alabama’s animal cruelty laws. This page covers the basic information you need to know prior to reporting cruelty.

Dog standing in desolate area with abandoned house in the background.

Statewide Animal Cruelty Laws

Cruelty to animals, as defined by Wikipedia, “is the infliction of suffering or harm by humans upon non-human animals, either by omission (neglect) or by commission.” Alabama has two sets of animal cruelty laws. These apply everywhere in the state.

Both sets of laws address basic animal cruelty, abuse, and neglect (such as failing to provide appropriate shelter or killing an animal without legal cause) and divide crimes into misdemeanor and felony offenses. Both sets of laws exempt acts taken when physical injury is occurring or is immediately threatened off of the premises of the animal’s owner. And under both sets of laws, each animal affected is a separate act of cruelty. However, the statutes differ significantly in their handling of surviving animals, criteria for conviction, and penalties.

Because of these differences, it is important that you submit your report related to both sets of cruelty laws by mentioning Cruelty to Dog or Cat, Cruelty to Animals, and Aggravated Cruelty to Animals.* If the law enforcement officials are not familiar with both sets of laws, you might provide the code sections (the number following the § symbol) so the officials can review them. If a municipal code applies, mention it also.

*Two exceptions: (1) If the animal affected is not a dog or cat, mention only Cruelty to Animals and Aggravated Cruelty to Animals; (2) If the situation is a violation of only municipal law, such as the chaining example below, mention only the municipal code.

Cruelty should be reported promptly. The statute of limitations for misdemeanors, which is how most animal crimes are charged, is twelve months after the commission of the offense (§ 15-3-2); for felonies, five years (§ 15-3-1). Despite these deadlines, reports about cruelty lose credibility if they are not quickly pursued once evidence to support the report is collected and ready to be used in support of the report.

To learn more about these laws, see Alabama’s Cruelty Laws In Depth.

Municipal Animal Cruelty Laws

If the incident or situation is within the limits of a city or town, check whether there is an applicable municipal law. Chaining, for example, in and of itself cannot be prosecuted under state law, but is a violation in some municipalities. As another example, a City of Arab law stipulates clear and specific shelter requirements for dogs habitually kept outside. This clarity and specificity can greatly facilitate enforcement of the Arab ordinance as compared to state laws, which include only vague terms.

Specific Cruelty Issues

“The number one animal cruelty crisis facing companion animals,” in the view of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, is addressed at Animal Hoarding. If you have information about a puppy mill or dog fighting, guidance specific to reporting these actions can be found on this page by Paws4Change.