Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 45-8-217 (2026)

Aggravated Animal Cruelty

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MT-LEGleg.mt.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

TITLE 45. CRIMES

CHAPTER 8. OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC ORDER

Part 2. Offensive, Indecent, and Inhumane Conduct

Aggravated Animal Cruelty

45-8-217. Aggravated animal cruelty. A person commits the offense of aggravated animal cruelty if the person purposely or knowingly:

(1) kills or inflicts cruelty to an animal with the purpose of terrifying, torturing, or mutilating the animal; or

(2) inflicts cruelty to animals on a collection, kennel, or herd of 10 or more animals.

History: En. Sec. 2, Ch. 366, L. 2003.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 15 cases (9 in the last 5 years), 2010–2025 · leading case: State v. Cheryl & Edwin Criswell, 2013 MT 177 (Mont. 2013).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

State v. Cheryl & Edwin Criswell, 2013 MT 177 (Mont. 2013). · cites it 8× “PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND ¶2 On January 5, 2011, the State charged Cheryl and Edwin each with one count of aggravated cruelty to animals, a felony, in violation of § 45-8-217(2), MCA. In the Amended Information, the State alleged that on or about December 17 through December 25,…”

State v. Northcutt, 2015 MT 267 (Mont. 2015). · cites it 4× “PROCEDURAL AND FACTUAL BACKGROUND ¶2 The State charged Northcutt with three counts of assault on a peace officer under § 45-5-210, MCA, and one count of aggravated animal cruelty under § 45-8-217, MCA. Northcutt’s jury trial commenced on April 8, 2013.”

State v. D. Palafox, 2023 MT 26 (Mont. 2023). · cites it 2× “¶5 Palafox was eventually charged with two counts of tampering with witnesses, felonies, in violation of § 45-7-206, MCA, and aggravated animal cruelty, a felony, in violation of § 45-8-217, MCA. Palafox pleaded guilty to aggravated animal cruelty.”

State v. E.M.R., 2013 MT 3 (Mont. 2013). · cites it 6× “, a youth under the age of eighteen, had committed five misdemeanor offenses of “dog at large,” in violation of County Ordinance # 4-2006-13, and one felony offense of aggravated animal cruelty, in violation of § 45-8-217(2), MCA. E.M.R. appeals from the dispositional order…”

State v. E.M.R., 2013 MT 3 (Mont. 2013). · cites it 5× “, a youth under the age of eighteen, had committed five misdemeanor offenses of “dog at large,” in violation of County Ordinance # 4-2006-13, and one felony offense of aggravated animal cruelty, in violation of § 45-8-217(2), MCA. E.M.R. appeals from the dispositional order…”

State v. Polejewski, 2021 MT 283N (Mont. 2021). · cites it 2× “¶4 On May 15, 2020, Polejewski was arrested on four counts of animal cruelty pursuant to § 45-8-211(1)(b) and (1)(c)(iii), MCA, and one count of aggravated animal cruelty pursuant to § 45-8-217(2), MCA. ¶5 On May 18, 2020, the State filed a Petition for Animal Welfare and Cost…”

State v. R. Erickson, 2023 MT 108N (Mont. 2023). · cites it 2× “The State charged Erickson with aggravated animal cruelty, a felony, in violation of § 45-8-217(2), MCA (“A person commits the offense of aggravated animal cruelty if the person purposely or knowingly .”

State v. A. Erickson, 2024 MT 92N (Mont. 2024). · cites it 5× “¶5 Based upon the condition of the 58 horses in their herd, both Alan and Robert were each charged with felony Aggravated Animal Cruelty in violation of § 45-8-217(2), MCA. That statute provides that “[a] person commits the offense of aggravated animal cruelty if the person…”

State v. Hill, 377 Mont. 87 (Mont. 2014). · cites it 4× “On June 9, 2014, the Defendant was sentenced for Count I: Aggravated Animal Cruelty, a felony, in violation of Section 45-8-217 (2011), MCA to Two (2) years to the Department of Corrections; for Count II: Aggravated Animal Cruelly, a felony, in violation of Section 45-8-217…”

Thornton v. Johnson (Mont. 2023). · cites it 2× “On February 8, 2023, the Silver Bow County Justice Court issued an arrest warrant for Thornton to appear on the charged offense of aggravated animal cruelty, pursuant to § 45-8-217, MCA, and imposed a $20,000 bond.”

Palafox v. Warden Green (D. Mont. 2024). · cites it 2× “Palafox was eventually charged with two counts of tampering with witnesses, felonies, in violation of § 45-7-206, MCA, and aggravated animal cruelty, a felony, in violation of § 45-8-217, MCA. Palafox pleaded guilty to aggravated animal cruelty.”

Myers v. Kem (D. Mont. 2025). · cites it 2× “1 $26); See Mont. Code Ann. § 45-8-217 (2021). Jack was arraigned in front of Judge Wald and requested the return of his cattle, but the State objected.”

Show all 15 citing cases →

— Mont. Code Ann. § 45-8-217(2) — 6 cases

State v. Cheryl & Edwin Criswell, 2013 MT 177 (Mont. 2013). “PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND ¶2 On January 5, 2011, the State charged Cheryl and Edwin each with one count of aggravated cruelty to animals, a felony, in violation of § 45-8-217(2), MCA. In the Amended Information, the State alleged that on or about December 17 through December 25,…”

State v. E.M.R., 2013 MT 3 (Mont. 2013). “, a youth under the age of eighteen, had committed five misdemeanor offenses of “dog at large,” in violation of County Ordinance # 4-2006-13, and one felony offense of aggravated animal cruelty, in violation of § 45-8-217(2), MCA. E.M.R. appeals from the dispositional order…”

State v. Polejewski, 2021 MT 283N (Mont. 2021). “¶4 On May 15, 2020, Polejewski was arrested on four counts of animal cruelty pursuant to § 45-8-211(1)(b) and (1)(c)(iii), MCA, and one count of aggravated animal cruelty pursuant to § 45-8-217(2), MCA. ¶5 On May 18, 2020, the State filed a Petition for Animal Welfare and Cost…”

State v. R. Erickson, 2023 MT 108N (Mont. 2023). “The State charged Erickson with aggravated animal cruelty, a felony, in violation of § 45-8-217(2), MCA (“A person commits the offense of aggravated animal cruelty if the person purposely or knowingly .”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.