Indiana Statutes

§ 35-46-3-7 — Abandonment or neglect of vertebrate animals; defense

Indiana § 35-46-3-7
JurisdictionIndiana
Art. 46MISCELLANEOUS OFFENSES
Ch. 3Offenses Relating to Animals

This text of Indiana § 35-46-3-7 (Abandonment or neglect of vertebrate animals; defense) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ind. Code § 35-46-3-7 (2026).

Text

(a)A person who:
(1)has a vertebrate animal in the person's custody; and
(2)recklessly, knowingly, or intentionally abandons or neglects the animal; commits cruelty to an animal, a Class A misdemeanor. However, except for a conviction under section 1 of this chapter, the offense is a Level 6 felony if the person has a prior unrelated conviction under this chapter.
(b)It is a defense to a prosecution for abandoning a vertebrate animal under this section that the person who had the animal in the person's custody reasonably believed that the vertebrate animal was capable of surviving on its own.
(c)For purposes of this section, an animal that is feral is not in a person's custody.

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Related

Constance Anderson v. State of Indiana
989 N.E.2d 823 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2013)
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907 N.E.2d 1043 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2009)
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Steven Duncan v. State of Indiana
975 N.E.2d 838 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2012)
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Lykins v. State
726 N.E.2d 1265 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2000)
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Trimble v. State
816 N.E.2d 83 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2004)
13 case citations
Bickford v. State
25 N.E.3d 1275 (Indiana Tax Court, 2015)
2 case citations
Bonnie Hanning v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
(Indiana Court of Appeals, 2019)
Wayne v. Lake Station City of
(N.D. Indiana, 2020)
Jane M. Burkhart v. State of Indiana
(Indiana Court of Appeals, 2013)
Lee Ross v. State of Indiana
(Indiana Court of Appeals, 2013)
Randell Lee v. State of Indiana
(Indiana Court of Appeals, 2014)
Mark Alderman v. State of Indiana
(Indiana Court of Appeals, 2012)
Julie Bickford v. State of Indiana
(Indiana Court of Appeals, 2015)
Patrick Green v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
(Indiana Court of Appeals, 2015)

Legislative History

As added by P.L.193-1987, SEC.10. Amended by P.L.171-2007, SEC.8; P.L.111-2009, SEC.12; P.L.158-2013, SEC.558.

Nearby Sections

15
§ 35-31.5-1-1
Applicability
§ 35-31.5-2-1
"Abandon"
§ 35-31.5-2-1.5
"Abuse"
§ 35-31.5-2-1.7
"Abusive head trauma"
§ 35-31.5-2-10
"Advisory sentence"
§ 35-31.5-2-10.5
"Affiant"
§ 35-31.5-2-100
"Distribute"
§ 35-31.5-2-101
"Distributor"
§ 35-31.5-2-102
"Documentary material"
§ 35-31.5-2-103
"Domestic animal"
§ 35-31.5-2-104
"Drug"
§ 35-31.5-2-105
"Drug abuser"
§ 35-31.5-2-105.5
"Drug crime"
§ 35-31.5-2-107
"Dwelling"
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Bluebook (online)
Indiana § 35-46-3-7, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/statute/in/35-46-3-7.