America’s Best and Worst States for Pets

By Grant Suneson Published Feb 24, 7:00PM EST

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America’s Best and Worst States for Pets — © Eva Blanco / iStock via Getty Images

Americans love their pets. Some 56.8% of U.S. households have at least one pet, and many have more than one. Unfortunately, not all pet owners give their animals the love and safety they deserve. Animal cruelty is all too common, with over 11,000 such incidents in 2020, according to FBI data.

Animal cruelty laws can vary widely across the country. Some states have strict laws requiring suspected abusers to be reported to the authorities and convicted abusers to forfeit their animals, while other states have hardly any laws protecting animals on the books at all.

To determine America’s worst states for pets, 24/7 Tempo reviewed the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s U.S. State Animal Protection Laws Ranking Report. Each state was evaluated based on the strength of its animal protection laws. Data on the percentage of households that own pets came from the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Many states have laws that require veterinarians to report suspected animal cruelty, while others have laws that permit veterinarians to report such instances and grant them civil immunity for reports made in good faith. However, some parts of the country have no requirements and offer no protection.

Similarly, some states have laws that require convicted animal abusers to surrender their animals and ban them from acquiring more. Other states leave any forfeitures and bans up to the court’s discretion, while a dozen have no laws addressing the issue whatsoever.

There does not appear to be any strong correlation between any one part of the country and especially strong animal abuse laws. In many cases, some of the best states for animals border some of the worst. Also, the share of pet owners in a state seems to have little bearing on the strength of anti-abuse legislation. These are the states with the most pets.

Click here to see America’s best and worst states for pets

50. New Mexico
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: None
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: None
> Pct. of households that own pets: 60.1% (23rd highest)

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49. Idaho
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: None
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Permitted
> Pct. of households that own pets: 69.9% (5th highest)

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48. Mississippi
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Permitted
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Permitted
> Pct. of households that own pets: 65.5% (8th highest)

47. Alabama
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Permitted
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Required
> Pct. of households that own pets: 59.8% (24th highest)

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46. Utah
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Permitted
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Permitted
> Pct. of households that own pets: 58.5% (20th lowest)

45. Kentucky
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Mandatory
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Permitted
> Pct. of households that own pets: 64.1% (11th highest)

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44. South Carolina
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: None
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: None
> Pct. of households that own pets: 62.0% (19th highest)

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43. North Dakota
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: None
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Required
> Pct. of households that own pets: 63.7% (12th highest)

42. North Carolina
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Permitted
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Permitted
> Pct. of households that own pets: 58.6% (21st lowest)

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41. Iowa
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: None
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: None
> Pct. of households that own pets: 59.4% (24th lowest)

40. Georgia
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: None
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Permitted
> Pct. of households that own pets: 51.1% (9th lowest)

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39. Wyoming
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Permitted
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: None
> Pct. of households that own pets: 71.8% (the highest)

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38. Montana
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Permitted
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: None
> Pct. of households that own pets: 61.9% (20th highest)

37. Alaska
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Permitted
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: None
> Pct. of households that own pets: 0.0% ()

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36. Arkansas
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: None
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Permitted
> Pct. of households that own pets: 69.0% (7th highest)

35. South Dakota
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: None
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: None
> Pct. of households that own pets: 46.4% (2nd lowest)

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34. Missouri
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Permitted
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Required
> Pct. of households that own pets: 63.5% (13th highest)

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33. New York
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Permitted
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Required
> Pct. of households that own pets: 49.7% (7th lowest)

32. Maryland
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Permitted
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Required
> Pct. of households that own pets: 48.6% (4th lowest)

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31. Oklahoma
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: None
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Required
> Pct. of households that own pets: 65.0% (9th highest)

30. Arizona
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: None
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Required
> Pct. of households that own pets: 58.0% (18th lowest)

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29. Connecticut
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: None
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: None
> Pct. of households that own pets: 49.9% (8th lowest)

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28. Minnesota
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Permitted
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Required
> Pct. of households that own pets: 54.0% (12th lowest)

27. Hawaii
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Mandatory
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Required
> Pct. of households that own pets: 0.0% ()

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26. Wisconsin
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Permitted
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Required
> Pct. of households that own pets: 59.0% (22nd lowest)

25. Tennessee
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Permitted
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: None
> Pct. of households that own pets: 61.7% (21st highest)

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24. Ohio
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Permitted
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Required
> Pct. of households that own pets: 62.4% (17th highest)

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23. Delaware
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Mandatory
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: None
> Pct. of households that own pets: 57.9% (17th lowest)

22. Kansas
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Mandatory
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Required
> Pct. of households that own pets: 62.8% (15th highest)

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21. Nevada
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Mandatory
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Permitted
> Pct. of households that own pets: 53.3% (11th lowest)

20. West Virginia
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Mandatory
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Required
> Pct. of households that own pets: 70.7% (2nd highest)

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19. Vermont
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Permitted
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Permitted
> Pct. of households that own pets: 70.0% (4th highest)

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18. Nebraska
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Mandatory
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Required
> Pct. of households that own pets: 70.3% (3rd highest)

17. Virginia
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Permitted
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Required
> Pct. of households that own pets: 55.5% (14th lowest)

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16. New Jersey
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: None
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: None
> Pct. of households that own pets: 47.4% (3rd lowest)

15. Pennsylvania
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Permitted
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Required
> Pct. of households that own pets: 60.6% (22nd highest)

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14. Michigan
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Permitted
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Permitted
> Pct. of households that own pets: 62.4% (17th highest)

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13. New Hampshire
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Mandatory
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Permitted
> Pct. of households that own pets: 51.8% (10th lowest)

12. Indiana
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Mandatory
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Permitted
> Pct. of households that own pets: 69.2% (6th highest)

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11. Texas
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Permitted
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Permitted
> Pct. of households that own pets: 58.2% (19th lowest)

10. Washington
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Mandatory
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Permitted
> Pct. of households that own pets: 62.7% (16th highest)

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9. California
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Mandatory
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Required
> Pct. of households that own pets: 57.2% (16th lowest)

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8. Louisiana
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Mandatory
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: None
> Pct. of households that own pets: 54.4% (13th lowest)

7. Florida
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Permitted
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Permitted
> Pct. of households that own pets: 56.0% (15th lowest)

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6. Massachusetts
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Mandatory
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Required
> Pct. of households that own pets: 49.1% (6th lowest)

5. Rhode Island
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Mandatory
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Permitted
> Pct. of households that own pets: 45.4% (the lowest)

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4. Colorado
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Mandatory
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Required
> Pct. of households that own pets: 64.7% (10th highest)

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3. Oregon
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Mandatory
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Required
> Pct. of households that own pets: 59.2% (23rd lowest)

2. Illinois
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Permitted
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Required
> Pct. of households that own pets: 48.6% (4th lowest)

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1. Maine
> Laws banning pet possession after animal cruelty conviction: Mandatory
> Laws requiring veterinarians to report potential cruelty: Required
> Pct. of households that own pets: 63.5% (13th highest)

About the Author Grant Suneson →

Grant Suneson is a senior editor at 24/7 Wall St. He was previously a digital content creator at Newsy and a reporter at NPR member station KBIA, where he contributed to their Edward R. Murrow Award-winning coverage. He graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism.

Grant’s work has been published and referenced in many major outlets such as MSN, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, Detroit Free Press, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Austin American-Statesman, The Tennessean, The Cincinnati Enquirer, The Indianapolis Star, The Clarion-Ledger, WSB-TV, Des Moines Register, Asbury Park Press, KMGH-TV, and many others.