A recent Dearborn County prosecution illustrates the challenges presented by the former law and the importance of the new provisions.
Kari Hawkins. Photo provided.
(Dearborn County, Ind.) – Changes to Indiana’s animal-cruelty laws that took effect July 1, 2026, give prosecutors clearer and stronger tools to hold individuals accountable when neglect results in an animal’s death or devastating injury.
Under the previous law, abandoning or neglecting an animal was generally a Class A misdemeanor unless the defendant had a qualifying prior conviction. The amended statute now allows abandonment or neglect to be charged as a Level 6 felony when it results in an animal’s death, serious permanent disfigurement, unconsciousness, or the permanent or prolonged loss or impairment of a bodily member or organ…