The nongovernmental organization “Human Society”, which last October put forward a number of proposals for toughening up the legislation on animal protection, said that it collected 15,000 signatures in support of a relevant legislative initiative. In a news conference at IPN on February 8, members of the NGO presented a bill to amend the Penal Code, which they intend to register with the Ministry of Justice in the near future.
The organization’s head Karl Luganov said the current penalty is not harsh enough for persons who ill-treat or kill animals. “That’s why we thought to adopt a more serious approach and to draft a bill referring to an article of the Penal Code, which would provide for the confiscation of the animals, ban on keeping them and even imprisonment of one to two years,” he stated.
According to the bill, the attempt to kill or the unjustified killing of an animal will be penalized with up to two years in jail, with or without ban on keeping animals for a period of seven to the years. Cruelty to animals will be punished with a fine of 3,000 to 4,000 lei or 60 to 120 hours of community service. Those who illegally sacrifice or abandon an animal or organize competitions between animals will also be penalized.
The members of the NGO said the police do not react to the cases of cruelty to animals. According to them, the persons who attack animals suffer from mental disorders. “A person who attacks a helpless, weak living creature suffers from mental disorders and is dangerous. Such persons need to be isolated because, if they attack a cat or a dog today, tomorrow they will abuse a child or a person with disabilities. We want to bring up healthy children from mental viewpoint and want a peaceful society,” said one of the organization’s members Svetlana Cheptanari.
The bill authors noted that as the European Convention on Human Rights protects the rights of persons, the Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare, adopted in Paris in 1978, protects animals’ rights. “Given also the existence of the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals, we consider that time has come for Moldova to also have national norms for implementing these international documents,” said the head of the Center for Initiatives and Public Authorities Monitoring Ion Dron.
Under the current legislation, the actions that lead to the mutilation or death of an animal are penalized with a fine of up to 800 lei or up to 60 hours of community service.
