How to Report
Call our office at 978-374-2415 or email us at aco@haverhillpolice.com, please leave detailed information including the address, all calls are anonymous and the caller will never know you contacted us, however we may need more information from you so please leave your contact information as well or call MSPCA Law Enforcement # 1-800-628-5808 - again information will be asked but you will remain anonymous. Call our office at 978-374-2415 or email us at aco@haverhillpolice.com, please leave detailed information including the address, all calls are anonymous and the caller will never know you contacted us, however we may need more information from you so please leave your contact information as well or call MSPCA Law Enforcement # 1-800-628-5808 - again information will be asked but you will remain anonymous.
Laws and Definition of Neglect. (Found from the MSPCA site)
Animal Cruelty Laws
Overview of Animal Cruelty Laws in Massachusetts. It is unlawful for an owner or custodian of an animal:
To fail to provide an animal with:
- Proper food and water
- Shelter or protection from the weather
- Veterinary attention to reduce or end suffering from disease or injury
- A sanitary environment
- To willfully abandon an animal
To carry or cause an animal to be carried in or on a vehicle in a manner that endangers the animal including transport of an improperly secured animal.
To willfully permit an animal to be subjected to unnecessary torture, suffering or cruelty
To Subject, Cause of Procure an animal:
- To be tortured or tormented
- To be cruelly killed, beaten or mutilated
To fail to notify the owner or police after striking a dog or cat with a motor vehicle
To use animals as lure or bail in a cruel or inhuman manner
To transport an animal in the back of a motor vehicle unless animal is properly restrained.
§ 137-27. Confining an animal in a motor vehicle
Any person owning, possessing or controlling an animal in the City of Haverhill shall not allow or permit said animal to be confined inside of a stationary or parked motor vehicle in a manner that could reasonably be expected to threaten the health of the animal due to exposure to extreme heat or cold.
The process of removing an animal from a motor vehicle will be as defined by MGL c. 140, § 174F. An initial violation of this subsection shall be punished by a fine of $150, and for a second offense and subsequent offense, be punished of a fine of $300.
Nothing in this subsection shall preclude prosecution under MGL c. 272, § 77.
In November, 2004, animal cruelty, as defined in Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 2732, Section 77, became a felony. Violations may result in a sentence of up to 5 years in state prison, or up to 2.5 years in a county jail and/or a fine of up to $2,500.