The House Committee on Courts and Criminal Code heard HB 1165 on various animal related matters authored by Rep. McNamara. The bill:
- Amends the definition of pest.
- Removes partial liability for damages when a person removes a domestic animal from a motor vehicle.
- Establishes an enhancement from a Class A misdemeanor to a Level 6 felony for the theft of a domestic animal.
- Sets forth new definitions and amends various definitions for offenses relating to animals.
- Increases the penalty for killing a law enforcement animal from a Level 6 felony to a Level 5 felony.
- Amends the crime of torture or mutilation of a vertebrate animal.
- Adds enhancements to abandonment or neglect of a vertebrate animal.
The Committee amended the bill by consent to:
- Remove the Level 5 felony enhancement to animal cruelty and make it instead an aggravating circumstance.
- Remove the Level 5 felony enhancement for theft of an animal and the reckless element of domestic violence animal cruelty.
- Specify that animal cruelty statutes apply to a rodent that is not a nuisance rodent.
- Provide that the destruction of an animal by any means other than humane euthanasia is a Class B misdemeanor.
The Vanderburgh County Prosecutor testified in support of the bill. The Indiana Public Defender Council testified in opposition. The amended bill passed 13-0.
Read the bill at https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2026/bills/house/1165/