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California — cruelty to animals (Penal Code § 597)

animal_welfare_law_us_ca_pen_597

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California — cruelty to animals (Penal Code § 597)

California Penal Code § 597 is the state's core animal-cruelty statute, covering malicious maiming/torture/wounding/killing and deprivation of food/drink/shelter.

Source: California Penal Code § 597, leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, extracted 2026-07-24 via Tokyo relay (Playwright). First-hand statute text; C1 substring-verified against pdf-raw/animal-welfare-law/ca_pen_597_cruelty.txt.

Verbatim C1 claims (each a substring of the source file):

  1. "597."
  2. "a person who maliciously and intentionally maims, mutilates, tortures, or wounds a living animal, or maliciously and intentionally kills an animal, is guilty of a crime punishable pursuant to subdivision (d)."
  3. "Except as provided in subdivision (c) of this section or Section 599c, a person who maliciously and intentionally maims, mutilates, tortures, or wounds a living animal"
  4. "cruelly beats, mutilates, or cruelly kills an animal"
  5. "fails to provide the animal with proper food, drink, or shelter"

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