National overview
Animal cruelty in the United States
Every animal cruelty offense reported by U.S. law enforcement through the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), from 2016, when animal cruelty became its own offense category, through 2025.
Trend
Reported offenses by year
Counts climbed as agencies adopted NIBRS. Lighter bars mark years when agencies reporting to NIBRS served less than 60% of Americans.
Offenses
Rate per 100,000 covered residents
The rate adjusts for coverage and has stayed between 6.0 and 8.8 offenses per 100,000 residents since 2019, so most of the growth in raw counts reflects better reporting rather than a surge in cruelty.
| Year | Offenses | Per 100,000 | Cleared | Clearance rate | Population coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 26,799 | 8.75 | 8,089 | 30% | 88.7% |
| 2024 | 26,170 | 8.72 | 7,597 | 29% | 87.4% |
| 2023 | 23,791 | 8.29 | 6,454 | 27% | 84.9% |
| 2022 | 21,583 | 7.93 | 5,699 | 26% | 80.8% |
| 2021 | 18,318 | 7.31 | 4,687 | 26% | 74.7% |
| 2020 | 12,246 | 6.05 | 3,020 | 25% | 60.8% |
| 2019 | 11,026 | 6.42 | 2,991 | 27% | 51.8% |
| 2018 | 5,453 | 3.76 | 1,576 | 29% | 43.9% |
| 2017 | 3,487 | 2.68 | 1,077 | 31% | 39.5% |
| 2016 | 379 | 0.31 | 139 | 37% | 38.4% |
Source FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), via the Crime Data Explorer. Retrieved September 30, 2026. Methodology & downloads.
Seasonality
Cruelty reports peak in summer
Averaged per day over the last four years, July has the most reported offenses and February the fewest. The summer peak is consistent with more time outdoors and more heat-related neglect calls, though NIBRS does not record the circumstances.
Average offenses per day, by month
Every month since 2016
| Year | Total offenses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 379 |
| 2017 | 3,487 |
| 2018 | 5,453 |
| 2019 | 11,026 |
| 2020 | 12,246 |
| 2021 | 18,318 |
| 2022 | 21,583 |
| 2023 | 23,791 |
| 2024 | 26,170 |
| 2025 | 26,799 |
Offenders
Who is reported for animal cruelty
In 2025, agencies identified 24,853 animal cruelty offenders. Shares below exclude offenders whose age, sex or race was not recorded.
Sex
- Animal cruelty offenders
- All offenders
| Group | Animal cruelty offenders | All offenders |
|---|---|---|
| Male | 60% | 72% |
| Female | 40% | 28% |
Adults and juveniles
- Animal cruelty offenders
- All offenders
| Group | Animal cruelty offenders | All offenders |
|---|---|---|
| Adult | 97% | 90% |
| Juvenile (under 18) | 3% | 10% |
Age
- Animal cruelty offenders
- All offenders
| Group | Animal cruelty offenders | All offenders |
|---|---|---|
| Under 16 | 2% | 6% |
| 16–25 | 16% | 24% |
| 26–35 | 25% | 27% |
| 36–45 | 23% | 23% |
| 46–55 | 15% | 12% |
| 56–65 | 11% | 6% |
| 66 and over | 8% | 2% |
Race
- Animal cruelty offenders
- All offenders
| Group | Animal cruelty offenders | All offenders |
|---|---|---|
| White | 70.9% | 57.9% |
| Black or African American | 26.3% | 38.8% |
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 1.3% | 1.4% |
| Asian | 1.2% | 1.5% |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0.3% | 0.4% |
Race is recorded by the reporting officer. Differences reflect who is reported and identified, which is shaped by where agencies report through NIBRS and by enforcement patterns, not only by who commits cruelty.
| Year | Offenders | Women (animal cruelty) | Women (all offenses) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 10,414 | 37.7% | 28.1% |
| 2021 | 14,890 | 39.1% | 27.8% |
| 2022 | 18,864 | 38.5% | 28.1% |
| 2023 | 20,924 | 38.7% | 28.3% |
| 2024 | 23,449 | 38.9% | 28.2% |
| 2025 | 24,853 | 39.6% | 28.5% |
Source FBI NIBRS Tables: Offenders by sex, age, race and age category, 2020–2025. Retrieved September 30, 2026. Methodology & downloads.
Agencies
Agencies reporting the most cases in 2025
Per-resident rates are shown for city agencies only; the FBI publishes population figures for cities. Large counts can also reflect dedicated animal-cruelty units that record cases diligently.
Source FBI NIBRS Tables: Offense Type by Agency, 2025. Retrieved September 30, 2026. Methodology & downloads.
About this data
- These are reported offenses, not convictions. NIBRS records offenses known to law enforcement. A case may be cleared by arrest or by exceptional means without ever reaching a conviction.
- Coverage matters. Only agencies that submit incident-based data to NIBRS are counted. Coverage rose from 38% of the population in 2016 to 89% in 2025.
- NIBRS animal cruelty (offense 720) covers simple or gross neglect, intentional abuse and torture, organized abuse such as dog and cock fighting, and animal sexual abuse. It became a standalone offense in January 2016, and agencies adopted it at different speeds.
- Two FBI products are used. Monthly counts come from the Crime Data Explorer and include late submissions. Agency counts come from the annual publication tables, which only include agencies meeting the FBI's reporting criteria, so the two totals differ slightly (26,799 versus 25,652 in 2025).
- Offenders are counted once per offense type. Demographics describe offenders known to police, including those never arrested.