North Dakota's animal cruelty law under NDCC Chapter 36-21.2 criminalizes overt acts of cruelty and neglect, which courts apply to animal hoarding cases. The statute provides minimum statewide protections that municipalities can supplement but not weaken.
NDCC Chapter 36-21.2 makes it unlawful to overwork, torture, torment, abandon, or cruelly beat an animal. Failure to provide adequate food, water, shelter, or veterinary care constitutes neglect, which often forms the basis for hoarding prosecutions when caretakers possess more animals than they can adequately care for. The statute distinguishes overt cruelty (a class C felony for first offense involving torture) from neglect (class B misdemeanor). Law enforcement and humane officers may seize neglected animals after court order. Convicted hoarders may be barred from owning animals and ordered to pay restitution for impoundment costs.
Cruelty: class C felony, up to 5 years prison, $10,000 fine. Neglect: class B misdemeanor, 30 days jail, $1,500 fine, plus animal forfeiture.
Horace, ND
Horace regulates amplified music and outdoor sound systems primarily through quiet-hour enforcement. Amplified sound audible beyond the property line during ...
Horace, ND
Horace regulates persistent barking dogs as a public nuisance under local animal control ordinances. Continuous barking beyond 10 to 15 minutes may trigger e...
Horace, ND
Horace limits construction hours as one of North Dakota's fastest-growing small cities. Extensive new subdivision development on former agricultural land cre...
Horace, ND
Horace enforces quiet hours generally from 10 PM to 7 AM under local municipal ordinances. North Dakota Century Code provides broad nuisance authority for ci...
Horace, ND
Horace, ND limits fences in front and street side yards to 3 feet (no more than 25% opaque), interior side and rear-yard fences in residential districts to 6...
Horace, ND
Horace follows North Dakota boundary fence law under NDCC §47-26 which establishes shared responsibilities for partition fences between neighboring properties.
Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Cass County.
See how Horace's animal hoarding rules stack up against other locations.
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