Pocket Guide: Animal Protection Laws and Resources

This publication is a booklet for Massachusetts police and animal control officers who enforce laws relating to animals. The easy-to-carry booklet (3′ x 5′) includes the most commonly used laws relating to animals. It also provides information on animal-related resources. (Due to the condensed nature, there may be additional statutes and case law not included yet important to your work.)

This booklet was printed in October 2019. To view an updated online version, you can read it here as a Google document. We plan to re-print this as a booklet at the end of the current legislative session in 2026.

For questions, comments, or copies, please email lawenforcement@mspca.org.

If you have the booklet, you may wish to take note of the statutes passed, and case law decided, since 2019 noted in the chart below (these are included in online version at the link above).

Updates to 2019 booklet: