Animal abuse: are the approved changes to the chamber really effective?

An important text on animal abuse is passed to the chamber that many have been waiting for, but Will it really be enough to strengthen protection for animals? The changes to the text provide for more severe penalties for various crimes, up to prison in the most serious cases of mistreatment and killing of animals. «It is a historical passage», he commented Michela Vittoria Brambillapromoter of the text. «Now the unnecessary killing of an animal will be punished with imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years, which can become 4 if the animal is tortured”.

But the penalties, as well as for the abuse and killingthey also become harsher for those who organize shows and events involving torture and torture for animals, for the violation of the ban on unauthorized fighting or competition between animalsfor whom participates in any capacity in fights or competitionsfor whom kills or harms other people’s animals. For these crimes they are also expected aggravating circumstances if committed to presence of minorstowards more animals or if they come documented and disseminated via the web.

A change regarding detention is expected of dogs on chains (previously it was a topic subject to regional directives), sanctions have increased for the illicit trafficking of pets. She will be punishedkilling, capture and possession of animals of protected species (as the bearfor example), and also the destruction and deterioration of habitats in protected sites. And whoever abandons or keeps an animal in incompatible conditionswill be subject to a fine ranging from a minimum of 5,000 euros to a maximum of 10,000 euros.

A general paradigm shift for a text that also changes heading, shifting the focus of attention from humans to animalsabandoning the title «Crimes against man’s feelings for animals», to choose a «Crimes against animals», with the animal no longer «object», but «subject» rights holder.

Will it work as a deterrent? Will he be able to stop them violence against animals which in recent years are increasingly frequent and cruel? Will it eliminate the feeling of impunity experienced until now by those who commit these crimes? That is: has the time finally come to see those guilty of mistreatment condemned? We talked about it with Ilaria InnocentiInstitutional Relations Office of Work And Roberta PoscenteLegal Department Work.

How do you comment on the approval of this change in the Chamber?
«There are undoubtedly positive aspects, but also extremely critical aspects, in particular regarding the penalties, which are not commensurate with the seriousness of the facts. In this way, in fact, the possibility is left open that some crimes will not lead to conviction: even for what concerns the mistreatment and killing of animals it will be difficult for those who commit the crime to go to prison. Only by establishing higher sentences could a more certain conviction be ensured.”

Indeed, we have seen many brutal cases of animal abuse that did not result in a conviction. So won’t we see a change in this sense?
«What we expected was precisely to overcome this impassemade up of trials that are time-barred or defendants acquitted due to the particular tenuousness of the fact. Law 189 of 2024 on the mistreatment of animals was a fundamental step because it allowed us to obtain important convictions as in the case of Green Hill or Circus Martin, but certainly with more effective tools we could have had more incisive convictions, for example for that which concerns dog fighting or clandestine horse racing, situations often managed by organized crime which deserve much more severe penalties”.

What other aspects don’t work in your opinion?
«For example, the approved changes regarding the keeping of pets on chains, which establish that this instrument is prohibited if it “prevents their movement”. It is a text with a dangerous formulation, and it is fundamental for us that the tout court ban on chain detention is clear, also so as not to mark a step backwards compared to the regions that have already introduced this ban”.

What are the positive aspects of this change?
«Certainly this text collects the amendment to the Constitution which in 2022 included the protection of animals, and also follows up on a general feeling of public opinion that is increasingly attentive to the protection of animals, but precisely for this reason we were hoping for a more courageous text . Specifically, among the positive aspects there is certainly the extension of the penalties provided for those who organize fights or competitions between animals also to those who participate as spectators. Furthermore, anti-mafia measures are extended to these types of crimes, making more incisive tools available. New, more effective tools are also planned for puppy trafficking. Very important is the modification which provides that the animals subject to seizure can be definitively entrusted to associations and private individuals before the conclusion of the process, and prevents the animals from returning to the hands of those from whom they were seized”.

Could more have been done with regards to wild animals?
«Yes, an important article was proposed to protect wildlife with effective sanctions for certain types of behavior involving the destruction and deterioration of natural habitats, which was then suppressed. Now the penalties have been adjusted, but nothing has changed significantly. This too was a great missed opportunity, regarding an issue on which Europe asks us to intervene effectively.”

How did the political forces align themselves in the discussion of these changes?
«The modification was supported by the center right with abstention from the center left and the Five Star movement».

What will happen now?
“What we hope is that the Senate has the courage to make the necessary improvements to the text, in order to guarantee a real deterrent effect.”