Animal cruelty can encompass a variety of actions. Each jurisdiction has the right to dictate the laws, as well as the punishments for breaking the laws. In most cases, penalties have been increased and may include jail time and fines. In many cases, individuals found guilty of  cruelty to animals, are often prohibited from having any pets, at least for a certain number of years.

Animal cruelty can include neglect. Neglect may be the result if misinformation in cases were people are unsure how to properly care for their pet. For instance, an animal may be malnourished because an individual was unsure of the proper feeding schedule.

There are also many cases of extreme animal abuse. Cases in which individuals simply drop of pets in the woods or in a public place and drive away, can be charged with animal cruelty as most pets are not very adept at surviving on their own. In addition, these animals can quickly multiply in numbers if they have not been spayed and neutered, posing a health risk to the community.

Facts about animal cruelty indicate that when families  begin to struggle financially, they often make the decision to get rid of their pets. In some cases, owners may keep their pets but fail to care for them properly, perhaps avoiding the veterinarian or failing to feed the animals as often as they should.

In other cases, people may kill the animal or simply stop caring for it. There has also been an increase in cases where people simply abandon their animals, often resulting in injury of the death of the animal.

Animal cruelty facts also indicate that the stress of the poor economy has resulted in other forms of animal cruelty. For example, people may turn to alternative forms of income and may take part in betting on rooster fighting. This is one of the most rampant forms of animal cruelty occurring in the United States. Included in that form of cruelty is dog fighting, which often results in injury to both animals and the death of at least one of them.

Facts about animal cruelty indicate that there has been an increase in incidence, but also an increase in penalties, which will perhaps reduce the frequency of incidences.