Pocket Guide: Animal Protection Laws and Resources

This publication is a guide for Massachusetts police and animal control officers who enforce laws relating to animals. Our goal is to produce an easy-to-carry guide that includes the most commonly used laws relating to animals while also providing information on related resources. Due to the condensed nature, there may be statutes and case law important to your work that are not in this guide.

This guide was published in October 2019 and is current as of that date.

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

To download a copy, click here.

Updates since the booklet was published that you may wish to read:

• Regulating the Use of Elephants, Big Cats, Primates, Giraffes and Bears in Traveling Exhibits and Shows
• Com. v. Russo, SJC-13531
• Ollie’s Law (boarding kennel regulations)
• Definition of “coercive control” in Chapter 209A