5-15-1. CRUELTY TO ANIMALS.

Any person who intentionally:

1. Tortures or seriously overworks an animal; or
2. Fails to provide necessary food, care, or shelter for an animal in his custody or control; or
3. Abandons an animal in his custody; or
4. Transports or confines an animal in a cruel manner; or
5. Kills, injures, or administers a poison to an animal without legal privilege to do so; or
6. Causes one animal to fight with another; is guilty of cruelty of animals.

It is a defense to prosecutor under this section that the conduct of the actor towards the animal involved was an accepted veterinary practice, or directly related to a bona fide experiment for scientific research, and that the animal being destroyed was destroyed in a manner no more cruel than necessary to accomplish the scientific research involved.

Cruelty to animals is a Class B crime.