1. A person commits animal abuse when the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly acts to inflict injury, serious injury, or death on an animal by force, violence, or poisoning.

Attorney's Note

Under the Iowa Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class D felonyup to 5 yearsbetween $1,025 and $10,245
Aggravated misdemeanorup to 2 yearsbetween $855 and $8,540
Serious misdemeanorup to 1 yearbetween $430 and $2,560
For details, see Iowa Code902.9 and Iowa Code§ 903.1
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Terms Used In Iowa Code 717B.2

  • Animal: means a nonhuman vertebrate. See Iowa Code 717B.1
  • Commercial establishment: means a commercial establishment as defined in section 162. See Iowa Code 717B.1
  • Convicted: means the entry of a judgment of conviction under chapter 901 or adjudicated delinquent for an act which is an indictable offense in this state or in another state under chapter 232. See Iowa Code 717B.1
  • Department: means the department of agriculture and land stewardship. See Iowa Code 717B.1
  • Euthanasia: means the same as defined in section 162. See Iowa Code 717B.1
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Injury: means an animal's disfigurement; the impairment of an animal's health; or an impairment to the functioning of an animal's limb or organ, including physical damage or harm to an animal's muscle, tissue, organs, bones, hide, or skin. See Iowa Code 717B.1
  • Local authority: means a city as defined in section 362. See Iowa Code 717B.1
  • person: means individual, corporation, limited liability company, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, or any other legal entity. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • property: includes personal and real property. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Serious injury: means an injury that constitutes an animal's protracted or permanent disfigurement, the protracted or permanent impairment of an animal's health, the protracted or permanent impairment of the functioning of an animal's limb or organ, or the loss of an animal's limb or organ. See Iowa Code 717B.1
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Veterinarian: means a veterinarian licensed pursuant to chapter 169 who practices veterinary medicine in this state. See Iowa Code 717B.1
 2. This section shall not apply to any of the following:

 a. An owner of the animal, or a person acting with the consent of the owner, who euthanizes an animal in a reasonable manner, if at the time of the euthanasia, the animal is in a state of permanent pain or suffering.
 b. A person acting to carry out an order issued by a court.
 c. A veterinarian practicing veterinary medicine as provided in chapter 169.
 d. A person acting in order to carry out another provision of law which allows the conduct.
 e. A person taking, hunting, trapping, or fishing for a wild animal as provided in chapter 481A.
 f. A person acting to protect the person’s property from a wild animal as defined in section 481A.1.
 g. A person acting to protect a person from injury or death caused by a wild animal as defined in section 481A.1.
 h. A person reasonably acting to protect the person’s property from damage caused by an unconfined animal.
 i. A person reasonably acting to protect a person from injury or death caused by an unconfined animal.
 j. A local authority reasonably acting to destroy an animal, if at the time of the destruction, the owner of the animal is absent or unable to care for the animal, and the animal is permanently distressed by disease or injury to a degree that would result in severe and prolonged suffering.
 k. A research facility, as defined in section 162.2, if the research facility has been issued or renewed a valid authorization by the department pursuant to chapter 162, and performs functions within the scope of accepted practices and disciplines associated with the research facility.
 l. An act required to be carried out by a commercial establishment to care for an animal in its possession or under its control as described in section 162.10A, subsection 1, provided that the commercial establishment complies with applicable standard of care requirements pursuant to subsections 1 and 2 of that section.
 3. A person who commits animal abuse that causes injury, other than serious injury or death, to an animal is guilty of a serious misdemeanor.
 4. A person who commits animal abuse that causes serious injury or death to an animal is guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor.
 5. Notwithstanding subsection 4, a person who commits animal abuse that causes serious injury or death to an animal is guilty of a class “D” felony if the person has previously been convicted of committing animal abuse pursuant to this section, animal neglect punishable as a serious misdemeanor or aggravated misdemeanor pursuant to section 717B.3, animal torture pursuant to section 717B.3A, injury to or interference with a police service dog pursuant to section 717B.9, bestiality pursuant to section 717C.1, or an act involving a contest event prohibited in section 717D.2.