Animal Abuse Laws: The 10 Worst States (PHOTOS)

Which states are the best for animal abusers? A report from the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) ranks U.S. states and territories by their animal protection laws.

According to the ALDF website, the rankings are part of a comparative analysis of each jurisdiction's animal protection laws in fourteen categories. Their sixth annual report is the longest-running survey of its kind.

The states ranked at the bottom of the list have animal protection laws that the ALDF says are lacking. These states all have "severely restricted or absent felony penalties for the worst types of animal abuse, inadequate standards of basic care for an animal, and lack of restrictions on the ownership of animals for those convicted of cruelty to animals," according to a press release.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and other groups recently launched a campaign urging Americans to boycott stores and websites that sell puppies. They claim that many of those dogs come from puppy mills.

Below, check out a list of the 10 states at the bottom of the ALDF's list. Note that the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa are the worst on the list, ranking below the following 10 states. Click here to read the full report.

List courtesy of Animal Legal Defense Fund.

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Comments

[ShannonsPetSitting]

11:00 AM on 03/14/2013

I am so glad to see that Illinois wasn't on the list of states! Its still an issue everywhere but I think the media & social networking has helped a lot over the years. I think Animal Abuses should be put on a list & have the same penalties and repercussions as sex offenders! They should NEVER be allowed to own or have another animal of any sort in their custody, be put into a data base accessibale to rescues, breeders etc, & be subject to unannounced random checks of their home!

[Kbloger22]

08:48 PM on 03/27/2012

I'm so sickend!

#WeNeedToStepUp!

[Cameron Coffman]

06:22 PM on 12/30/2011

Drug offenders get harsh penalties and animal abusers get light penalties????? Are we insane!!!

[Kbloger22]

08:49 PM on 03/27/2012

Maks me mad!

[avoiceforouranimals]

02:56 PM on 12/30/2011

Friends,

I just created a petition entitled US Representatives: Harsher penalties for animal abuse and neglect, because I care deeply about this very important issue.

I'm trying to collect 100 signatures, and I could really use your help.

To read more about what I'm trying to do and to sign my petition, click here:
http://www.change.org/petitions/us-representatives-harsher-penalties-for-animal-abuse-and-neglect?share_id=DenxKmtRrx&

It'll just take a minute!

Once you're done, please ask your friends to sign the petition as well. Grassroots movements succeed because people like you are willing to spread the word!

Jody

[amaboss52]

07:00 PM on 12/27/2011

Like I've said before it gets harder and harder to defend being a human.

[Rachel Flanagan]

09:13 AM on 12/26/2011

“Kindness and compassion towards all living things is a mark of a civilized society. Conversely, cruelty, whether it is directed against human beings or against animals, is not the exclusive province of any one culture or community of people. ”
― César Chávez

[Gottlieb]

02:46 AM on 12/26/2011

States which don't protect animals also have horrible domestic violence and abused children.

[Moose Luck 99]

10:14 PM on 12/25/2011

I do not worry about abuse I will hook them with my antlers or trample them!

[Moose Luck 99]

10:12 PM on 12/25/2011

Great reason to support the Humane Society and SPCA!!

AVERAGEZOE "Articles like this are extremely misleading­. Unless you live in a city with a Humane Society or SPCA who have cruelty investigat­ors, the laws don't mean a thing if there is no one to enforce them. "

[Kathy Fraser]

10:00 PM on 12/25/2011

PLEASE, animal rights activists! PLEASE focus on Iowa! The hog and chicken factories are increasing by the day, the abuses are innumerable! PLEASE lean of the Farm Bureau, the Pork Council, the Egg Council and the GOVERNOR of Iowa, Terry Branstad - his policies are not only destroying the state of Iowa, they're destroying the gulf of Mexico, where the horrific run-off goes! PLEASE help!

[ThomasPaine1776]

05:57 PM on 12/25/2011

Shhh. I've got a kitty sleeping on my lap right now.

go back to sleep Ellie.

[pammygamherst]

01:20 PM on 12/25/2011

i was an animal control officer in va in the early 90s. it is almost impossible to get a conviction for animal cruelty/neglect; judges and others in law enforcement need to be educated and these cases need to be prosecuted more vigorously.
in 2005, i purchased a horse from a woman and boarded him there (paying board); she was under such financial duress she was using board money for her personal expenses and my horse (and the 10 she owned) were not receiving adequate hay or grain (hay being the more important of the two) so i bought my own and started looking for another boarding barn; during the summer she didn't provide adequate water (i would go out during my lunch hour and watered them all)..i turned her into the county animal control officer who in turn called in the state vet for examination of the horses. she found out i was the one who turned her in and had to move my horse immediately as i feared for his safety. the animal control officer would not bring charges against her, and guess what, she still owns horses.
part of the problem is neglect is a misdeamnor and the perpetrator gets a slap on the wrist by the judge; until laws are changed, the abuse of animals will continue.

[Vimentin]

09:10 AM on 12/25/2011

I can name 50 states for human abuse laws.

[Paultony]

09:04 AM on 12/25/2011

The lead in says states and territories! Someone didn't do their research. I now live in Puerto Rico. I have never seen so many abused, neglected, mistreated animals as I do here. It is absolutely discusting. It has to be worst than any state.

[bcmom]

05:26 PM on 12/25/2011

I have heard that also. It s bad in all the states. Things are not getting any better, they are getting worse when it comes to cruelty and in some cases what I consider torture.

Wasn't it a couple of years ago in Puerto Rico about 900 dogs were thrown off a cliff in plastic bags, some with their heads sticking out of the bags? We are disgusting as a human race!

[Paultony]

06:20 AM on 12/26/2011

It wasn't that many but one is to many. They were thrown off a high bridge by someone who was hired to clean out a public housing project and dispose of the animals humanely. But you don't have to go to that extreme. We have two neighbors who have dogs tied outside 24/7 with no human interaction.except to be fed. One is a female who has no choice but to have pups every time she comes into heat. She is on a three foot chain.

[megsy123]

01:30 AM on 12/25/2011

I have noticed that most of the websites for sub par dogs I have seen generate out of California,....the laws don't matter if you don't enforce them, and the states that need enforcement the most don't make the list of the worst...


silly article, it turns out to mean nothing at all.

[whoknew222]

04:00 AM on 12/25/2011

Sub par dogs that never asked to be born or bred are not as important as dogs that meet a specific standard. I find your statement to be crass and disconcerting. It mean less than nothing if this is where the level of concern for helpless animals lies.

[megsy123]

06:08 AM on 12/25/2011

what? All I said is that there is no reason to breed an average run of the mill dog, I never said they aren't as important, just that it is not desireable to breed just ANY dog, if you want a companion only, you can go to a shelter.

[whoknew222]

05:15 AM on 12/25/2011

I apologize if I misinterpreted your meaning. This article is a bit misleading.

[megsy123]

06:11 AM on 12/25/2011

gotcha. my articulation is poor at the wee hours anyhow.