Animal cruelty prevention laws in the United States are aimed at protecting animals from owners failure to provide proper food, water, shelter, protection from the weather, safeguarding sanitary environment, veterinary care, willful abandonment, carried in a way that endanger animal life especially in a vehicle, willfully subjecting an animal to torture, failure to notify the owner or the law enforcement in a vehicle accident involving with a dog or cat, to use animals as lure, transport an animal in the back of a truck without proper restraints and many others. Basically they are aimed at promoting animal welfare and preventing cruelty to animals.
The primary law in the U.S. regarding animal welfare and cruelty contained in the Animal Welfare Act of 1966 which has been subsequently amended several times. It deals with treatment of animals in research, transport, by dealers and exhibition. Then there are other Federal laws, regulations and policies covering a wide range of issues related to animals. Besides the Federal law, there are many state laws that are intended to safeguard animal welfare and provide protection. Laws treating animal cruelty, range from misdemeanor to felony and carry sentences that require jail time as well as paying fines.