We often see how people convicted of animal abuse crimes do not go to jail. This creates a sense of impunity in the public, which is very detrimental to the protection of animals. The problem often lies in the false expectations created by the public and the successive statements made by governments about future regulations that are not contained in the laws they have approved in practice.
In the latest reform of the Penal Code, ill-treatment is regulated by Article 340. It establishes disqualification with a prison sentence of three to eighteen months and a fine of six to twelve months. If cruelty is committed, offensive methods are used or weapons or poison are used, executed in front of a minor or, for example, causing the death of an animal, prison sentences can be up to 24 months.
However, these penalties may be converted into work for the benefit of the Community. Moreover, Article 80 of the Penal Code regulates that the judge may suspend the execution of the sentence with a reasoned decision, in case of certain special assumptions, such as the sentence not exceeding two years. For this reason, it is very difficult for a person who commits cruelty to animals to go to prison.
Therefore, it would never be better said that we stop blaming judges who only administer justice for this, and look for objective reasons that explain the outcome of not going to jail for a person who mistreats an animal. If we do this, we will soon realize that the key really lies in the government and its parliamentary support. At the end of the day, it is they, not the others, who are truly responsible, for better and worse, for promoting each and every one of the legislative changes that have finally been passed in Congress and the Senate.