Animal Cruelty Enforcement

This Division is responsible for responding to and enforcing the state’s animal cruelty laws under N.J.S.A. Title 4, Chapter 22. In compliance with this law, the Newark Police Division has assigned Precinct Detectives to investigate all animal cruelty and neglect incidents that occur within the City of Newark

The below definitions generally outline, but are not limited to, potential violations of New Jersey Animal Cruelty or Neglect Laws.

– Animal Cruelty can be either deliberate abuse or simply the failure to take care of an animal.

– Animal Neglect is the failure to provide basic care required for an animal to thrive.

– Adverse Environmental Conditions refer to conditions in which the ambient temperature is 35 degrees Fahrenheit or below in the immediate vicinity of a dog, domestic companion animal, or service animal; or where other cold weather or precipitation-related environmental conditions exist. Similarly, adverse environmental conditions exist when the ambient temperature is 90 degrees Fahrenheit or above in the immediate vicinity of a dog, domestic companion animal, or service animal; or when an animal is exposed to direct sunlight, hot pavement or any other hot surface.

– Bodily Injury means physical pain, illness or any impairment of physical condition.

– Cruel Conditions are defined as any treatment that is devoid of any human compassion and considered cruel to the point that may pose a danger to the life or wellbeing of an animal. This includes, but is not limited to, cruelly retraining a dog, i.e. using a chain with metal links that are more than ¼” thick or a tether, collar or harness to which a weight is attached; tethering a nursing female dog or a dog less than 4-months old; or tethering a dog in a manner that does not permit the dog continuous access to water in a sanitary and liquid state whenever the dog is tethered for more than 30 minutes.