Anti-cruelty statutes do not give animals legal rights, but these laws are the main form of legal protection afforded to animals in our society. Each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia has enacted its own unique animal anti-cruelty statute. The first anti-cruelty statute was enacted in America in 1641 by the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Article 92 in its legal code, called the "Body of Liberties," stated that "No man shall exercise any Tirranny or Crueltie towards any Bruite creature which are usuallie kept for man's use."

Today, anti-cruelty laws exist at both the state and federal levels. The Animal Welfare Act provides the principal protection at the federal level. At the state level, every state has enacted its own unique law prohibiting cruel treatment of animals. The intent of anti-cruelty laws is twofold. First, these laws seek to protect animals from mistreatment by imposing a penalty for such behavior. Second, anti-cruelty laws are intended to conserve public morals by deterring all forms of violent human behavior. It is now generally known that cruelty to living creatures leads to other forms of violent behavior.

API's State Animal Cruelty Laws summary is organized alphabetically by state. It includes the following information:

summary of the text of the state's statute
definition of the term "animal"
practices that are exempted from coverage
year the statute was most recently amended
definition and classification of the crime for a violation of the statute
penalties for violations
whether forfeiture or seizure of animals is allowed
any additional conditions a court may impose upon a defendant.