The Council of Ministers on Monday approved the animal rights bill in the second round, which is opposed by the Ministry of Social Rights and the 2030 Agenda. With this rule, the government intends to put an end to the abuse, abandonment and sacrifice of animals. He also tries to say goodbye to circuses with wild animals and cockfights. With the green light from the executive branch, the text prepared by Ion Belara’s department will thus go through the parliamentary process for final approval.
Zero casualties
The text approved by the executive branch calls for “zero sacrifice” of domestic animals, which can only be slaughtered for “sanitary and euthanasia reasons,” the ministry said in a statement. “With this law, we are going to end impunity for animal abusers,” Bellara said in a video posted on Twitter, noting that they are trying to prevent “abandoned animals that no one claims can be sacrificed.”
More punishment for mistreatment
He also advocates “hardening penalties for abuse by reforming the Criminal Code.” Thus, “in cases of ill-treatment resulting in death, the penalty will be increased to 24 months and to 36 in the event of more than one aggravating circumstance.” This modification of penalties includes offenses affecting “vertebrate animals”, such as wild boar, “whose ill-treatment has not previously resulted in criminal offences”.
Not at shows and exhibitions
Among the main lines of the law, the prohibition of circuses with wild animals and the transformation of zoos and dolphinariums into centers for the restoration of local species are considered. In addition, if the text is finally extended, animals cannot be used in “activities and shows in which they may be harmed or killed, such as cockfights or pigeon shooting,” Social Rights adds. The minister claims that such type of measures are “already beyond the common sense of our society”. If the drafted text finally comes into force, “fines could reach up to 200,000 euros,” Bellara adds.
Stop the abandonment
Acquiring and abandoning pets are two other axes of this strategy. The text, which passed the filter of the Council of Ministers for the second time, prohibits “the commercialization of dogs, cats and birds in pet stores, as well as their exhibition and display to the public for commercial purposes.”
Likewise, to combat abandonment, it ensures “all pets can be identified and bred only by registered breeders.” According to data cited by Bellara, “over 285,000 dogs and cats came to shelters last year” because their owners got rid of them.
Source: El Diario
