1. (a) A person who:

   1. (1) has a vertebrate animal in the person's custody; and

   2. (2) recklessly, knowingly, or intentionally abandons or neglects the animal;

      commits cruelty to an animal, a Class A misdemeanor. However, except for a conviction under section 1 of this chapter, the offense is a Level 6 felony if the person has a prior unrelated conviction under this chapter.

2. (b) It is a defense to a prosecution for abandoning a vertebrate animal under this section that the person who had the animal in the person's custody reasonably believed that the vertebrate animal was capable of surviving on its own.
3. (c) For purposes of this section, an animal that is feral is not in a person's custody.

As added by P.L.193-1987, SEC.10. Amended by P.L.171-2007, SEC.8; P.L.111-2009, SEC.12; P.L.158-2013, SEC.558.