Minnesota Statute 343.21 establishes statewide animal cruelty offenses including overworking, depriving food or water, and torture. Hoarding cases are prosecuted as cruelty and apply to every owner regardless of city or county boundaries.
Minnesota's animal cruelty law makes it a crime to deprive any animal of necessary food, water, shelter, or veterinary care, or to subject animals to cruel neglect. Animal hoarding is typically charged under this statute when owners accumulate more animals than they can adequately care for. Authorities may seize neglected animals under Minn. Stat. 343.235 with court approval and bill the owner for boarding and veterinary costs. The statute applies uniformly in every Minnesota jurisdiction and is enforced by police, sheriffs, and humane agents appointed under section 343.01.
Cruelty is a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor; torture or great bodily harm is a felony. Convicted hoarders may be barred from owning animals and ordered to pay restitution.
See how Buffalo's animal hoarding rules stack up against other locations.
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