Cruelty to Animals
Section 30-18-1 — a misdemeanor, and a felony on a fourth conviction
Cruelty to animals is negligently mistreating, injuring, killing without lawful justification or tormenting an animal, or abandoning or failing to give necessary sustenance to an animal in one's custody. Humanely destroying a sick or injured animal, or protecting a person or animal from an attack, is lawful justification. Insects and reptiles are not animals under the section.
Who handles this in New Mexico: Enlace Comunitario; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the New Mexico directory.
It is a misdemeanor, and a fourth degree felony on a fourth or later conviction. The section sets out extreme cruelty separately.
Sources for this section (1)
- NMSA 1978, § 30-18-1 — Cruelty to animals; extreme cruelty to animals; penalties; exceptions
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of November 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed New Mexico attorney.