(a) In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated. (b) “Animal” means a living creature except a human being. (c) (1) “Cruelty” means the unnecessary or unjustifiable physical pain or suffering caused or allowed by an act, omission, or neglect. (2) “Cruelty” includes torture and torment. (d) “Humane society” means a society or association incorporated in Maryland for the […]
It is the intent of the General Assembly that each animal in the State be protected from intentional cruelty, including animals that are: (1) privately owned; (2) strays; (3) domesticated; (4) feral; (5) farm animals; (6) corporately or institutionally owned; or (7) used in privately, locally, State, or federally funded scientific or medical activities.
Sections 10–601 through 10–608 and 10–626 of this subtitle do not apply to: (1) customary and normal veterinary and agricultural husbandry practices including dehorning, castration, tail docking, and limit feeding; (2) research conducted in accordance with protocols approved by an animal care and use committee, as required under the federal Animal Welfare Act or the federal Health […]
(a) A person may not: (1) overdrive or overload an animal; (2) deprive an animal of necessary sustenance; (3) inflict unnecessary suffering or pain on an animal; (4) cause, procure, or authorize an act prohibited under item (1), (2), or (3) of this subsection; or (5) if the person has charge or custody of an animal, as owner or otherwise, unnecessarily […]
(a) A person may not knowingly attend a deliberately conducted dogfight as a spectator. (b) A person may not knowingly attend as a spectator a deliberately conducted event that uses a fowl, cock, or other bird to fight with another fowl, cock, or other bird. (c) (1) A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and […]
(a) (1) In this section, “sexual contact with an animal” means any act: (i) involving: 1. a person touching the sex organ or anus of an animal; 2. contact between: A. the sex organ or anus of a person and the mouth, sex organ, or anus of an animal; or B. the sex organ or anus of an animal, and the mouth, […]
(a) In this section, “baiting” means using a dog to train a fighting dog or to test the fighting or killing instinct of another dog. (b) A person may not: (1) use or allow a dog to be used in a dogfight or for baiting; (2) arrange or conduct a dogfight; (3) possess, own, sell, transport, or train a dog […]
(a) (1) In this section, “implement of dogfighting” means an implement, an object, a device, or a drug intended or designed: (i) to enhance the fighting ability of a dog; or (ii) for use in a deliberately conducted event that uses a dog to fight with another dog. (2) “Implement of dogfighting” includes: (i) a breaking stick designed for insertion behind […]
(a) (1) In this section, “implement of cockfighting” means any implement or device intended or designed: (i) to enhance the fighting ability of a fowl, cock, or other bird; or (ii) for use in a deliberately conducted event that uses a fowl, cock, or other bird to fight with another fowl, cock, or other bird. (2) “Implement of cockfighting” includes: […]
(a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, if an officer of a humane society sees a person committing a misdemeanor that involves cruelty to an animal, the officer shall arrest and bring before the District Court the person committing the misdemeanor. (b) In Calvert County, if an officer of a humane society […]
(a) This section does not apply to a person giving away an animal: (1) as an agricultural project; (2) for conservation purposes; or (3) that is intended for slaughter. (b) Without the approval of the Secretary of Agriculture, a person may not give away a live animal as: (1) a prize for, or inducement to enter, a contest, game, or other […]
(a) A person may not kill or allow a dog or cat to be killed by use of: (1) a decompression chamber; (2) carbon monoxide gas; or (3) curariform drugs. (b) A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to a fine not exceeding $500.
(a) A person who owns, possesses, or has custody of a domestic animal may not drop or leave the animal on a road, in a public place, or on private property with the intent to abandon the animal. (b) A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to a […]
(a) This section does not apply to: (1) a biomedical facility that is licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture; or (2) an animal that is accompanied by a signed statement from a licensed veterinarian stating that the animal’s dam is incapacitated for humane or medical reasons and cannot care for the animal. (b) (1) Except as provided in […]
(a) In this section, “chick” means a chicken, duckling, or other fowl under the age of 3 weeks. (b) This section does not prohibit the sale or display of a chick in proper facilities by a breeder or store engaged in the business of selling chicks for commercial breeding and raising. (c) A person may not: (1) sell, offer […]
(a) If an owner or custodian of an animal is convicted of an act of animal cruelty, the court may order the removal of the animal or any other animal at the time of conviction for the protection of the animal. (b) (1) An officer or authorized agent of a humane society, or a police officer or other […]
(a) This section does not apply to premises: (1) where dogs are kept or bred solely for medical or related research or laboratory tests; (2) operated by a licensed and regularly practicing veterinarian; or (3) where hunting dogs are housed, if the buying, selling, trading, or breeding is incidental to the main purposes of housing, keeping, and using dogs. […]
(a) In this section, “animal control unit” means the local organization or governmental unit that the appropriate local governmental body designates to house, care for, and control domestic animals of unknown ownership. (b) An animal control unit shall dispose of an unclaimed dog or cat only by: (1) placing the animal in a suitable home; (2) retaining the animal […]
(a) A person may not willfully and maliciously give poison or ground glass to a dog, or expose poison or ground glass, with the intent that a dog ingest it. (b) A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to a fine not exceeding $100 for each violation.
(a) (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. (2) “Dangerous dog” means a dog that: (i) without provocation has killed or inflicted severe injury on a person; or (ii) is determined by the appropriate unit of a county or municipal corporation under subsection (c) of this section to be a potentially dangerous dog and, after the […]
