Under current Alabama law, animal abandonment is considered a type of animal cruelty. House Bill 249 seeks to create a new criminal law for animal abandonment separate from the state’s animal cruelty statute. The American Kennel Club (AKC) supports HB 249, and encourages all Alabama residents to contact the members of the House Agriculture and Forestry Committee to urge support of HB 249 prior to its scheduled hearing on Wednesday, February 26, 2025.
CURRENT LAW
When describing animal cruelty, Alabama’s current law defines cruel as “every act, omission, or neglect, including abandonment, where unnecessary or unjustifiable pain or suffering, including abandonment, is caused or where unnecessary pain or suffering is allowed to continue.”
The penalty for a person convicted of animal cruelty depends upon the severity of the cruel act. More severe acts of cruelty are subject to Class C felony penalties, which includes imprisonment between 366 days and 10 years and fines up to $15,000. Lesser acts of cruelty are subject to Class A misdemeanor penalties, which includes up to one year imprisonment and fines up to $6,000.
PROPOSED LAW
AB 249 would remove references of abandonment from the definition of cruel, and replace them with a new, standalone definition of abandon: “to forsake entirely or leave a dog or cat at a location without providing minimum reasonable care.” It would also create a new crime of abandonment of a dog or cat, which would be based on the person demonstrating criminal negligence. The new crime would be considered a Class A misdemeanor (up to one year imprisonment and fines up to $6,000).
POSITION: SUPPORT
Dog owners bear a special responsibility to their canine companions to provide proper care and humane treatment at all times. Proper care and humane treatment includes an adequate and nutritious diet, clean water, safe and clean living and travel conditions, regular veterinary care, kind and responsive human companionship, and training in appropriate behavior. AKC supports HB 249 because it provides better clarity regarding the illegality of abandoning a dog or cat in Alabama and the penalties a person may be subject to if convicted of doing so.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Alabama residents are encouraged to contact the members of the House Agriculture and Forestry Committee before Wednesday, February 26, 2025, when it is schedule to consider HB 249.
Representative Danny Crawford, Chair – Danny.F.Crawford@gmail.com, (334) 261-0516
Representative Steve Hurst, Vice Chair – repstevehurst98@gmail.com, (334) 261-0415
Representative Thomas Jackson, Ranking Minority Member – jthomase68@gmail.com, (334) 261-0437
Representative Ron Bolton – ronaldbolton1@gmail.com, (334) 242-7600
Representative Napoleon Bracy – napoleon@napoleonbracy.com, (334) 261-0556
Representative Brett Easterbrook – brett.easterbrook@yahoo.com, (334) 261-0402
Representative Jennifer Fidler – jennifer.fidler@alhouse.gov, (334) 242-7600
Representative Bob Fincher – rsfincher77@gmail.com, (334) 261-0538
Representative Matthew Hammett – matthew.hammett@alhouse.gov, (334) 242-7600
Representative Reed Ingram – reedingram75@gmail.com, (334) 261-0507
Representative Artis “A.J.” McCampbell – acmc1@bellsouth.net, (334) 261-0547
Representative Ed Oliver – ed.oliver@alhouse.gov, (334) 261-0471
Representative Ivan Smith – vansmith53@gmail.com, (334) 261-0459
Representative David Standridge – david.standridge@alhouse.gov, (334) 261-0446
Representative Curtis Travis – cltravis620@charter.net, (334) 242-7600
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Contact AKC Government Relations at doglaw@akc.org.