Questions and Answers About Animal Cruelty
Q. What constitutes animal cruelty?
Animal cruelty occurs when someone intentionally injures or harms an animal or when a person willfully deprives an animal of food, water or necessary medical care. Here are some signs that may indicate abuse or neglect:
• Tick or flea infestations
• Wounds on the body
• Patches of missing hair
• Extremely thin, starving animal
• Limping
• An owner striking or otherwise physically abusing an animal
• Dogs who are repeatedly left alone without food and water, and often chained in a yard
• Dogs who have been hit by cars—or are showing any of the signs listed here—and have not been taken to a veterinarian
• Dogs who are kept outside without shelter in extreme weather conditions
• Animals who cower in fear or act aggressively when approached by their owners
Q. What constitutes federal cruelty to animals?
There is no federal cruelty law—and technically, there cannot be. Animal cruelty is dealt with on the state level because the United States Constitution limits the areas in which Congress can pass federal laws applicable nationwide (Article 1, Section 8), and instructs that everything else is up to individual states to handle. However, there are some federal laws to regulate specific activities that affect animals. For example, the Animal Welfare Act regulates the sale, handling and transport of certain animals. Click here to learn more about the Animal Welfare Act.
The U.S. Congress’s broadest Constitutional power is over activities that impact or affect international and interstate commerce. Acts of animal cruelty typically occur in a fixed place, and probably cannot be interpreted to impact interstate commerce—not yet, anyway—so the federal government has no jurisdiction over them. The flip side of this is animal fighting ventures, which do sometimes involve movement between states. Therefore, because can it involve interstate commerce, there are federal laws addressing animal fighting and outlining penalties. One such law is 2007’s Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act.
The growth of Internet commerce has led to another exception—the federal government's "Crush Act," which provides punishment, ranging in severity from a fine to five years in prison, for the display of acts of cruelty and sexual abuse intended for interstate commerce.
Q. Why is it important to report animal cruelty?
Our Humane Law Enforcement department finds out about most instances of animal abuse in Hardin County through phone calls from concerned citizens who witness cruelty in their neighborhoods. Without tips from the public, many animals would remain in abusive circumstances, mute and unable to defend themselves. It all starts with you—that's why it's so important to learn how to recognize and report crimes against animals.
Q. There’s an animal in my community who isn’t being cared for properly—is that cruelty?
Yes, it is. You don’t have to hit an animal to be cruel to him—depriving an animal of food, water or necessary medical care is neglect, which is a form of cruelty.
There are two general categories of animal neglect: simple neglect and gross, willful, cruel or malicious neglect. Simple neglect (failure to provide basic needs) is not always considered a criminal act, and can often be resolved by the intervention of local animal care and control or humane agencies, which may be able to offer resources and educate offenders on how to provide proper care for their animals. However, a growing number of states make a distinction between simply failing to take adequate care of animals and intentionally or knowingly withholding sustenance. Accordingly, “willful” neglect is considered a more serious, often prosecutable offense.
Neglect can also be an indicator of “animal hoarding,” the accumulation of large numbers of animals in extremely unsanitary conditions, often resulting in the death of many animals and potentially serious health consequences for the people who are living with them. In many cases, individuals charged with animal abuse and neglect in hoarding situations have been found to have children or dependent adults living in the same conditions as the animals who are suffering.
C.A.I.T. Program
The School of Veterinary Medicine at The University of Tennessee Knoxville has developed the Companion Animal Initiative of Tennessee (C.A.I.T.). The initiative has compiled a book of all Tennessee laws as they apply to animals.
Visit their website by clicking here.
You can download the book in PDF format by
clicking here.
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