The organization Intervenção e Resgate Animal (IRA) promotes this Saturday, in Lisbon, a demonstration in defense of the criminalization of animal abuse, after the Public Ministry requested the unconstitutionality of the rule that provides for this penalty.
The protest, which has the support of the PAN – People – Animals – Natureza party, which will be represented by the spokesperson and sole deputy, Inês Sousa Real, begins in Marquês de Pombal and ends in Rossio, passing through the Constitutional Court (TC). .
In Lusa, the president of the IRA, Tomás Pires, said that the demonstration, in which at least 10,000 people are expected, aims to “show the indignity” and the “non-acceptance” of the country moving to a phase in which “There is no censorship” of violence against animals” or “legal consequence of it.”
On the social network Facebook, the IRA announced that it intends to “make as many noises as possible”, I have asked the participants not to bring their company animals with them, and criticize the “indescribable silence” of the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa , on the matter.
The Public Ministry before the Constitutional Court requested the declaration of unconstitutionality of the norm that defines with fine or imprisonment anyone who, without legitimate reason, kills or mistreats pets, according to a press release released this Wednesday by the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation. According to the note, the unconstitutionality appeal arises after three decisions of the TC in this regard.
According to the newspaper Expresso, the Constitutional Court had already declared serious cases unconstitutional, such as that of the dog Pantufa, who died in agony after undergoing a cold-blooded caesarean section. The owner, who threw the dogs still alive in the trash, was convicted at first instance, but later acquitted.
According to the weekly, the TC argues, namely, that article 66 of the Constitution, which protects the Environment and Quality of Life, cannot be invoked for the protection of companion animals, such as dogs and cats. “Article 66 does not protect animals as such, in a way that allows them to be understood as ‘individuals’, but rather protects them only to the extent of their relevance to the environment as a whole,” says the ruling quoted by Expresso.
Article 387 of the Penal Code classifies as a crime of mistreatment of companion animals (for example, dogs and cats) the conduct of those who, without legitimate reason, inflict pain, suffering or any other physical mistreatment, and the crime is punishable by imprisonment. imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to 120 days. In the event of the animal’s death, “deprivation of an important organ or member” or “serious and permanent deficiency in its ability to move”, the penalty may be imprisonment for up to two years or a fine of up to 240 days.
On Wednesday, Expresso said that the plenary session of TC judges is preparing to decide the future of the animal protection law, in force for eight years and the subject of three decisions declared unconstitutional by the court. This law, dated August 2014, adds three articles to the Penal Code, criminalizing the abandonment and mistreatment of companion animals.
The PAN, which considers that mistreating an animal is unconstitutional, announced this Thursday that it will present a new proposal to reform the Penal Code. The party defends, in a 2022 bill that it sent to the specialty commission on Friday, the increase in the “maximum limits provided for fines for crimes of mistreatment and abandonment of animals, as well as prison sentences for damages caused by death”.
According to the PAN, the death of an animal must be punished with a prison sentence of six months to three years (instead of two years) or a fine of 60 to 360 days (instead of 240 days) and abandonment with a fine of up to 90 days (instead of the current 60).
A public petition “in defense of the law that penalizes the mistreatment of animals” and the inclusion of the protection of animals in the Constitution, has already collected more than 71,000 signatures.
Source: Observadora
