We are increasing penalties for animal abuse, but this will not happen mechanically. This was stated by Justice Minister Georgi Georgiev at a briefing. Representatives of non-governmental organizations that deal with the protection of animals from violence held a working meeting with him. The topic became even more acute after the revelations of sadism and animal abuse in Pernik. The department is proposing changes to the Criminal Code to provide for stricter penalties for abusers.
Georgiev stressed that the new measures “untie” the hands of judges for fairer sentences. “We are not proposing a mechanical sum of increasing penalties. The texts in the Criminal Code are related and they must communicate with each other. When things are sometimes "overdone" and a much harsher punishment is envisaged, this gives grounds for imposing a lighter sentence, explained the relevant minister. According to him, so far, violence against an animal has often been punished with a sentence of "damaging or destroying another person's property."
“We are also planning two new sections of the Criminal Code, which are in response to the unprecedented cruelty we are witnessing. They will concern sadism towards animals as a business. Such cases will be subject to imprisonment from 3 to 10 years. The sanction will be applied when the criminal act is filmed, and not only after the recording is distributed,” the Minister of Justice also said.
”There is no law that can replace humanity. The Criminal Code does not contain a list of virtues. "That is why justice intervenes only when the crime has been committed, when the boundary of humanity, morality and virtue has long been crossed," Georgiev added.
The draft law has already been published on the website of the Ministry of Justice. A public discussion is pending.