Cruelty to animals is when a person harms or even kills an animal or pet. There is a fine and sometimes in more serious cases one can go to jail. The animal that suffers could be stolen, or it could be the owner abusing their own pet. Some ways in which people could abuse the animal would be by locking it, keeping it tied to a chain, giving it little or no food or water, kicking and hurting it, yelling and scaring it or leaving it outside in cold or hot weather for a long period of time. Sometimes people will also abandon their pet. Some examples of animal cruelty are neglect, hoarding, or physical abuse.