site.btaGovernment Seeks Harsher Punishments for Cruelty against Animals

The government on Tuesday submitted to the National Assembly draft amendments to the Penal Code concerning violence against animals, according to the legislature’s website. The bill was approved by the Council of Ministers last week.

Acts of organizing and participating in animal fights were criminalized in Bulgaria back in 2009, the government recalls in its reasoning for the bill. The penalties were increased in 2023, and currently, offences carry, on conviction, between one and four years’ imprisonment and fines from BGN 1,000 to BGN 5,000. A repeat offence carries between two and five years’ imprisonment and a fine between BGN 5,000 and BGN 10,000.

The new bill proposes more severe penalties for filming cruel acts against animals for subsequent distribution of the footage, for cases when the crime was committed by two or more people, when it was committed for personal gain, or by decision of an organization, group or organized crime group. When cruelty against an animal is perpetrated by a person whose job is related to raising animals and providing care for them, the court should have the right to bar the person from practicing the job, the draft amendments suggest.