§ 91.51 ANIMAL CRUELTY.
   (A)   A person who does any of the following shall commit animal cruelty under this section:
      (1)   Willfully or maliciously kills, abuses, maims, tortures, or disfigures any animal, or willfully or maliciously administers poison to any animal, or exposes any poisonous substances with the intent that the poisonous substance shall be taken and swallowed by such animal;
      (2)   Overloads, overworks, torments, or intentionally deprives an animal of its necessary food, water, or shelter, resulting in preventable suffering or death;
      (3)   Beats, mutilates, uses for the purpose of BAIT, as defined in § 91.01, or causes said actions to occur; or
      (4)   Engages in any of the following:
         (a)   Owns, possesses, keeps, or trains any animal with the intent that such animal be engaged in an exhibition of fighting;
         (b)   Builds, makes, maintains, or keeps a pit on premises owned or occupied by the animal owner, or allows a pit to be built, made, maintained, or kept on said premises for the purposes of an exhibition of animal fighting;
         (c)   Encourages, instigates, promotes, or assists in an exhibition of animal fighting or intentional combat; or
         (d)   Charges admission; is an assistant, umpire or participant; or is present as a spectator to any exhibition of animal fighting or combat.
   (B)   A person who owns or confines any animal and fails to supply it with adequate shelter, food, water, space, or VETERINARY CARE, as defined in § 91.01, with such acts committed without malicious or punitive intent commits animal neglect under this section.
   (C)   A person who abandons an animal in a residence or other owned property or tethers an animal outside for the purposes of abandonment at a residence, place of business, or the Humane Society of the county commits animal abandonment under this section.
   (D)   Any animal control officer or other officer empowered to act by law may impound any animal found to be the victim of animal cruelty, animal neglect, or animal abandonment.
   (E)   Nothing in this section shall prohibit the use of commercially sold poisons for the control of rats, mice, ground hogs, moles, or other similar rodents, as long as the person using the poisons uses reasonable care to ensure that no domestic animals are exposed to the poisons.
Penalty, see § 91.99