Delaware Code Title 11 Section 1325 criminalizes cruel neglect, including unsanitary confinement and conditions that injure animal health, providing the statewide hook prosecutors use to charge animal hoarding cases.
11 Del. C. Section 1325 makes it a class A misdemeanor to subject any animal in a person's custody to cruel neglect, defined to include keeping an animal where its excrement is not removed from the living area or other living conditions injurious to health. Intentional killing or causing serious injury elevates the offense to a class F felony. Convictions trigger a five-year prohibition on owning animals for misdemeanors and fifteen years for felonies, with limited commercial agricultural exceptions. The statute is enforced by police, the Delaware Office of Animal Welfare, and the Delaware SPCA across all jurisdictions.
Class A misdemeanor up to 1 year jail and $2,300 fine; class F felony up to 3 years prison; ownership ban 5-15 years.
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Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in New Castle County.
See how Newark's animal hoarding rules stack up against other locations.
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