Penal Code 597 makes it a crime to maliciously harm an animal, or, as its owner or keeper, to neglect one by withholding food, water, shelter or needed care. All three subsections share one penalty: a wobbler, up to three years in county jail as a felony or up to 364 days as a misdemeanor, plus a fine up to $20,000. Which level applies depends on the conduct charged.
What PC 597 prohibits
Penal Code section 597 defines animal cruelty in three subsections that share one penalty structure in subdivision (d). Subdivision (a) covers a person who "maliciously and intentionally maims, mutilates, tortures, or wounds a living animal, or maliciously and intentionally kills an animal." Subdivision (c), which the Legislature amended effective January 1, 2024, applies that same malicious-and-intentional standard to a mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian or fish that is endangered, threatened or otherwise fully protected under specific cross-referenced Fish and Game Code sections. Subdivision (b) is the neglect clause: it covers overdriving, overloading, overworking, torturing, tormenting or depriving an animal of necessary sustenance, drink or shelter, or cruelly beating, mutilating or killing it, and, separately, an owner or custodian who subjects the animal to needless suffering, unnecessary cruelty or abuse, fails to provide proper food, drink, shelter or protection from the weather, or uses the animal for labor it is unfit to perform. The statute says a person who does any of these acts is, for each offense, guilty of a crime under subdivision (d). Unlike (a) and (c), subdivision (b) does not use the phrase "maliciously and intentionally"; it instead lists the specific acts and omissions themselves.
| Subdivision | Conduct covered | Mental state in the text |
|---|---|---|
| 597(a) | Maiming, mutilating, torturing or wounding a living animal, or killing one | "Maliciously and intentionally" |
| 597(b) | Overdriving, overloading, overworking, torturing or depriving an animal of sustenance, drink or shelter, cruelly beating or killing it, or, for an owner or custodian, needless suffering, unnecessary cruelty, abuse, or failing to provide food, drink, shelter or weather protection | No "maliciously and intentionally" phrase; the text lists the specific acts and omissions themselves |
| 597(c) | Maiming, mutilating or torturing a mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian or fish that is endangered, threatened or otherwise fully protected under the cross-referenced Fish and Game Code sections | "Maliciously and intentionally" |
What counts as cruelty, torment or neglect
Penal Code section 599b supplies the definitions used throughout this title of the code. "Animal" includes every dumb creature, a term broad enough to reach pets, livestock and wildlife alike, not only the specific protected species named for subdivision (c). "Torment," "torture" and "cruelty" each include "every act, omission, or neglect whereby unnecessary or unjustifiable physical pain or suffering is caused or permitted." Because the definition reaches an omission, withholding food, water or shelter can fit the statute without any single affirmative act of violence. "Owner" and "person" include a corporation, and the knowledge and acts of a corporation's agent or employee regarding an animal in its custody are treated as the corporation's own knowledge and acts.
PC 597 penalties: felony or misdemeanor
Subdivision (d) sets one penalty range for a violation of (a), (b) or (c). Section 597 does not specify its own felony term, so Penal Code section 1170(h)(1) sets the felony range at 16 months, two or three years in county jail, unless the defendant falls under a 1170(h)(3) exception, such as a qualifying current or prior serious or violent felony conviction, a matching out-of-state conviction, an existing sex-offender registration requirement, or a Penal Code 186.11 enhancement, any of which sends the sentence to state prison instead. A misdemeanor county jail term is capped at 364 days under Penal Code section 18.5, which applies to any offense a statute describes as punishable by up to one year in county jail.
| Level | Custody exposure | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Felony | 16 months, two or three years in county jail under Section 1170(h), or state prison if a 1170(h)(3) exception applies | Up to $20,000 |
| Misdemeanor | Up to 364 days in county jail (Section 18.5) | Up to $20,000 |
The $20,000 fine ceiling is the same at either level; only the custody exposure changes. Because PC 597 is a wobbler, the choice between the two levels depends on the specific conduct, the animal's injuries and the defendant's record. See how California decides a wobbler charge for the factors a prosecutor and court weigh, and how long prosecutors have to file charges for how that same felony-or-misdemeanor choice affects the filing deadline.
What happens to the animal after a conviction
Subdivision (g) addresses the animal itself. On conviction for causing or permitting "an act of cruelty, as defined in Section 599b," any animal lawfully seized and impounded over that violation is forfeited by court order to the impounding officer for proper disposition, and the convicted person is liable for the costs of impoundment from the time of seizure to the time of disposition. That mandatory forfeiture does not apply to an animal in a properly conducted scientific experiment or investigation performed under the authority of an incorporated medical college or university's faculty. If the court grants probation instead of a jail or prison term, violating a condition the court sets afterward is a separate matter from the PC 597 charge itself, covered in the firm's page on probation violations.
Lawful exceptions written into the statute
Penal Code section 599c states that nothing in this title interferes with the state's game laws, laws for or against the destruction of certain birds, the right to destroy a venomous reptile or an animal known to be dangerous to life, limb or property, the right to kill animals used for food, or a properly conducted scientific experiment or investigation performed under an incorporated medical college or university's faculty. These are statutory limits on the reach of section 597, not case-specific defenses, and whether a particular animal or situation actually fits one of them is a factual question for the specific case.
Other animal-related charges that are not PC 597
Two related offenses are sometimes confused with section 597 itself. Penal Code section 597.5 separately punishes dogfighting: owning or training a dog with intent that it be fought, or causing a dog to fight another for amusement or gain, is a felony under Section 1170(h), 16 months, two or three years, with a fine of up to $50,000, while knowingly attending as a spectator is a misdemeanor of up to 364 days and a $5,000 fine. Penal Code section 597.1 is a separate misdemeanor for an owner, driver or keeper who permits an animal to be in a public place "without proper care and attention," and it comes with its own seizure, notice and hearing procedure for the agency that takes the animal, distinct from the forfeiture-on-conviction rule in 597(g). For a PC 597 charge, see the Law Offices of David S. Chesley's animal cruelty defense page.