site.btaCC-DB Considers Legislative Measures against Animal Abuse

Legislative and regulatory changes to protect animals from abuse were discussed on Tuesday at a roundtable, titled "Ending animal abuse: adequate and drastic measures", organized by the parliamentary group of Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) in the National Assembly. The meeting was attended by over 50 representatives of non-governmental organizations, as well as state institutions responsible for these problems, such as the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency, the Ministry of Environment, the prosecuting magistracy, etc., the CC-DB said.

"The topic of animal abuse is extremely sensitive for our society after the case in Pernik. This time, I will make sure that the laws that we have been trying to pass through several legislatures already reach the plenary hall and are adopted," said CC-DB MP Kristina Petkova. She added that in connection with the Pernik case she had submitted five parliamentary questions, mainly to find out where the perpetrators had obtained their animals, and in this regard she was ready to propose a bill to regulate the sale of animals in pet stores. “We will use this moment to reintroduce the law banning fur farms, as well as the law banning the use of fireworks,” Petkova also said.

CC-DB MP Petar Kyosev called for not going to extremes in legislative changes to introduce penalties for crimes against animals and for working carefully on the issue. “I am grateful to the non-governmental sector for its readiness to assist the legislative process. Your assistance is extremely useful and we rely on it, because you work on the ground. I hope that with the other parliamentary groups we will find a way to address these problems and really make the necessary legislative changes,” Kyosev said.

The meeting focused on the need for changes to the Criminal Code and the Special Intelligence Means Act to increase  penalties and detect crimes against animals, including the organization of dog fights. According to some participants, it is necessary to increase the penalties for acts of cruelty to animals, allowing in particularly serious cases to be treated as a serious crime, for which the penalty is over 5 years of imprisonment. The issue of creating a register of proven sadists against animals was also raised, so that such perpetrators could suffer higher penalties.

Most of the participants in the meeting agreed that it is necessary to create a special body to exercise control and impose administrative penalties for violence against animals, since at present the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency Agency, the Interior Ministry and other responsible state institutions cannot cope with the problem. The issue of setting a deadline for registering pet dogs and imposing sanctions if it is exceeded, as well as introducing a register for pet cats, was also raised. Participants also demanded criminal measures against animal abandonment.

The CC-DB parliamentary group has already introduced amendments to the Criminal Code, which propose the introduction of new legal provisions and strengthening institutional control over crimes against animals.

The proposed changes include:

∙ Criminal liability is expanded for particularly serious crimes against animals, including violence for financial gain.

∙ Sanctions are introduced for organized criminal schemes in which violence against animals is used for profit.

∙ Stricter institutional responsibility is required, so that state authorities exercise active control, carry out effective investigations and impose real penalties.