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Ala. Code § 3-1-13

This is the official text of Ala. Code § 3-1-13, part of Alabama’s Code — part of the compiled statutory law of Alabama, published by the state as "Code." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.

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Section 3-1-13 Right of Officers, Etc., of Humane Societies to Take Charge of and Care for Neglected or Abused Animals; Written Notice to Owner from Whom Animal Taken; Lien for Expenses for Care and Keeping of Animal

Official statutory text

Any duly authorized officer or employee of a recognized humane society shall have the right to take charge of any animal which is sick or disabled due to neglect or is being cruelly treated or abused and to provide care for such animal until it is deemed to be in suitable condition to be returned to its owner or to the person from whose custody such animal was taken.

The officer so taking such animal shall at the time of taking the animal give written notice to the owner or person from whose custody it was taken.

The necessary expenses incurred for the care and keeping of the animal after such notice by the humane society shall be a lien thereon and, if the animal is not reclaimed within 10 days from the giving of such notice, the humane society may sell the animal to satisfy such lien. If the humane society determines that the animal cannot be sold, it may cause the animal to be otherwise disposed of.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.