Minneapolis, MN Animal Ordinances: Animal Hoarding (2026)

343.21 OVERWORKING OR MISTREATING ANIMALS; PENALTY. Subdivision 1. Torture. No person shall overdrive, overload, torture, cruelly beat, neglect, or unjustifiably injure, maim, mutilate, or kill any animal, or cruelly work any animal when it is unfit for labor, whether it belongs to that person or to another person. Subd. 2. Nourishment; shelter. No person shall deprive any animal over which the person has charge or control of necessary food, water, or shelter. Subd. 5. Abandonment. No person shall abandon any animal. Subd. 7. Cruelty. No person shall willfully instigate or in any way further any act of cruelty to any animal or animals, or any act tending to produce cruelty to animals. Subd. 9. Penalty. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, a person who fails to comply with any provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor. A person convicted of a second or subsequent violation of subdivision 1 or 7 within five years of a previous violation of subdivision 1 or 7 is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. (b) A person who intentionally violates subdivision 1 or 7 where the violation results in substantial bodily harm to a pet or companion animal may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 364 days or to payment of a fine of not more than $3,000, or both. (d) A person who intentionally violates subdivision 1 or 7 where the violation results in death or great bodily harm to a pet or companion animal may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than two years or to payment of a fine of not more than $5,000, or both.