Last Updated on July 2, 2025
California has some of the strictest animal protection laws in the nation, covering not only pets but also wildlife, strays, and farmed animals. To make matters worse, jury members tend to see the creatures as innocent victims, making it very difficult to ensure a fair criminal trial. For these reasons, anyone facing these accusations should immediately contact a skilled Vista animal abuse attorney to develop the most vigorous possible defense against the charges.
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About Animal Cruelty Charges in Vista
Animal welfare is protected by California Penal Code section 597 (PC). Under this statute, someone can be considered guilty of animal cruelty if they maliciously maim, torture, torment, mutilate, wound, or kill an animal. Examples include:
- shooting a cow with a BB-gun
- cutting off a opossum’s tail
- throwing an animal into traffic
- kicking a dog in the ribs
Putting a sick animal to sleep is not animal abuse because the action is not malicious but intended to reduce the creature’s suffering.
Animal neglect occurs when someone overloads or overworks an animal, or deprives it of necessary food, water, or shelter. Examples include:
- making a horse carry riders all day until it can barely walk
- leaving on a trip without providing a house cat sufficient food and water for the duration of the vacation
- riding a horse while under the influence of alcohol
- leaving a dog outside in freezing weather
- keeping a dog in a crate for lengthy periods of time
- failing to seek medical attention for a pet rabbit with a broken leg
What Are the Penalties for 597 (PC)?
Animal cruelty is a wobbler offense, meaning prosecutors can file the charges as a misdemeanor or a felony. As a misdemeanor, the offense is punishable by up to one year in county jail and $20,000 in fines. As a felony, the crime can be punished by up to 3 years in state prison.
Because these offenses are wobblers, an animal cruelty lawyer may be able to ensure the charges are brought up as misdemeanors to minimize the potential sentence you may face.
It’s also worth noting that those convicted of felony-level offenses will no longer be able to possess a firearm; a judge may use a misdemeanor conviction as grounds to issue a gun violence restraining order against someone convicted of this crime.
Defenses Against Animal Abuse Crimes
While these laws are intended to help protect animals, they often neglect the realities of pet ownership, pest control, public safety and farm life. In many cases, they result in the prosecution of people who genuinely believe they did nothing wrong. Contact an experienced attorney as soon as the police have accused you of abuse, or things you may say while attempting to defend yourself may be used against you later on.
Poor Judgement or Bad Timing
Frequently, persons accused of animal abuse or neglect are loving pet owners who either made a mistake in judgment or were simply caught at the wrong time. As an example, some people only find out their pet sitter wasn’t responsible enough to take care of a pet after they return from their vacation and find their dog was left with insufficient water. Alternatively, pet owners are sometimes accused of leaving an animal without water just because the pet knocked over its own water while the owner was away.
Self Defense
Occasionally, people are accused of wrongfully killing a wild animal when they only acted in self-defense to protect themselves from a dangerous creature. In these cases, your criminal defense lawyer can help you show that you acted in self-defense, which is a strong argument against animal abuse, just as it is against similar acts against humans.
Not Being Responsible for the Animal
If you have been accused of abusing an animal you were not responsible for, this is also a strong defense. For example, if your roommate let their cat starve and you were instructed not to care for the pet, you cannot be held legally responsible for its death under the law.
Lacking the Means to Care for a Pet
Another solid legal defense is that you are a loving pet owner who lacks the means to care for your pet. It is not against the law to be impoverished, and if you are suffering financially and cannot afford to provide an animal with sufficient medical care, you should not be charged with this crime.
The Animal Was Not Alive
You can only be charged with animal cruelty for harming a living animal. If you maimed the corpse of an already deceased creature, you are not guilty under the law.
What if the Animal Presented a Threat to Public Health?
An animal may not necessarily present an immediate threat to your life to be considered a danger. You can legally kill bothersome and dangerous animals when they present a danger to life, limb, or property. If a creature has been known to bite people, kill pets, carry dangerous diseases, or destroy personal property, you can probably kill it. This exemption from California’s animal cruelty law is why killing rats, gophers, mice, and other animals that damage homes and yards is legal.
While you can kill an animal considered dangerous to life, limb, or property, you can’t do so in a particularly malicious or cruel manner, including starving, beating, or dehydrating the creature to death. Additionally, intentionally maiming, mutilating, torturing, or wounding the animal without killing it is illegal. Using a trap or poison to kill the animal is permitted under the law. It is even legal if it fails and hurts the creature —as long as you did not purposefully injure the animal and you act as quickly and humanely as possible to put the pest out of its misery once you notice it is alive.
Unfortunately, most birds in the U.S. are protected by the federal Migratory Bird Act of 1918, which makes it illegal to kill, hunt, capture, or sell any part of a bird considered to be migratory (including its eggs). Of the over 1100 bird species in the U.S., 800 are protected by this law, including many species of seagulls and pigeons. It is possible to obtain a permit to be excluded from the law in certain circumstances. For example, if a bird is causing a dangerous situation at an airport, it may be possible to capture or even kill the animal. Failure to obtain a permit before harming a bird protected by the act can open you up to federal criminal charges.
For this reason, it’s best to leave pesty birds alone. If they can’t be ignored though, speak with a professional who can identify the species. If they are protected by the Migratory Bird Act, you’ll need to contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to obtain a permit before you take action.
A Lawyer Can Still Help Guilty Clients
Even when a person really is guilty under 597 (PC), a criminal defense lawyer can be critical in helping to protect your rights. He may even be able to negotiate a good plea bargain to minimize the amount of jail time you may serve. If you are a juvenile or suffer from a mental health condition, you could qualify for a diversion program that may allow you to keep this charge off your criminal record.
There are many crimes similar to animal cruelty under California law. Many offenses regarding the health and safety of animals, including dogfighting (Penal Code 597.5 (PC)), leaving your dog in your car unattended (Penal Code 597.7 (PC)), and bestiality (Penal Code 286.5 (PC)) are distinct offenses. However, in all of these cases, it is common for those accused to also be charged with animal abuse.
Owning exotic pets is also a crime in California, which has one of the strictest prohibitions on animal ownership in America. Any animal that is either endangered or considered to be a threat to the health and safety of the public or the state’s native wildlife and plants is illegal to own.
A Real Life Example
In a shocking case in Escondido, a man named Joshua Tyler Boyer was charged with animal abuse after the dead bodies of 10 cats in his backyard on Reed Road. The animals didn’t just die from old age or even neglect. Instead, they were tortured; burned, shot with arrows and BB pellets, electrocuted, mutilated, pierced with needles, and left trapped in the sun without food or water.
He was plead guilty to 10 counts of felony animal abuse and was sentenced to the maximum penalty of 8 years in prison.
Call a Lawyer Today
If you have been accused of animal abuse or neglect in Vista or elsewhere in San Diego County, whether or not you feel the accusations are legitimate, please contact an attorney as soon as possible to protect your rights. Please schedule a free initial consultation with Peter M. Liss by calling (760) 643-4050 or (858) 486-3024 today.
