Lawmakers for the opposition Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKÚ) on December 7 defended their legislative proposal tightening penalties in the Criminal Code for cruelty to animals and said it should be voted on during the ongoing parliamentary session.
The measure proposes replacing the financial penalties and suspended sentences for animal cruelty with jail terms of three to five years and, for a second animal cruelty offence or when the affected animal is a protected species, five to eight years in prison. It also proposes criminalising incitement to commit cruelty to animals.
Tatiana Rosová (SDKÚ), one of the proposers of the bill, said she had submitted to Parliament petition sheets signed by 20,000 people in support of the effort. Another proponent of the bill, Katarína Cibulková (also SDKÚ), says the existing legislation fails to meet its role and protect society from such crimes. "This is evident from the increasing number of cruelty-to-animal cases, which are more and more brutal and committed by ever-younger perpetrators," she said. Rosová argued that the bill is also about how ready society is to tolerate violence, be it toward animals or people.
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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