The criminal code of the District of Columbia, Section 22-1001, prohibits cruelty to animals…..

This statute explicitly covers “all living and sentient creatures, human beings excepted,” if a prosecutor can prove “serious bodily injury,” or if a prosecutor can prove “to an animal or indifference to animal life, that a single offense can be punished by up to five years in prison or a fine not to exceed $25,000 or both.”