Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal ProcedureRelease 119-73
§1368 Harming animals used in law enforcement
Title 18 › Part PART I— - CRIMES › Chapter CHAPTER 65— - MALICIOUS MISCHIEF › § 1368
Summary
Hurting, trying to hurt, or planning to hurt a police animal is a federal crime. You can be fined and jailed up to 1 year, or up to 10 years if the animal is permanently disabled, disfigured, seriously injured, or killed. Police animal: a dog or horse used by a federal agency to detect crime, enforce laws, or catch offenders.
Full Legal Text
Title 18, §1368
Crimes and Criminal Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Whoever willfully and maliciously harms any police animal, or attempts or conspires to do so, shall be fined under this title and imprisoned not more than 1 year. If the offense permanently disables or disfigures the animal, or causes serious bodily injury to or the death of the animal, the maximum term of imprisonment shall be 10 years.
(b)In this section, the term “police animal” means a dog or horse employed by a Federal agency (whether in the executive, legislative, or judicial branch) for the principal purpose of aiding in the detection of criminal activity, enforcement of laws, or apprehension of criminal offenders.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2002—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–273 inserted “to” after “serious bodily injury”.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Short Title
of 2000 Amendment Pub. L. 106–254, § 1, Aug. 2, 2000, 114 Stat. 638, provided that: “This Act [enacting this section] may be cited as the ‘Federal Law
Enforcement
Animal Protection Act of 2000’.”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
18 U.S.C. § 1368
Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal Procedure
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73