Greece passes stringent law against animal abuse, penalty increased to 10 year in jail

The Greek parliament on November 5 passed a law making mistreatment of animals a punishable offense. The amendment has been triggered by some of the recent cases of animal abuse that garnered a lot of attention from the Greek people. According to The Greek Herald, the law will see the accused get punishment of up to 10 years in prison if convicted of committing animal abuse. The parliament on Thursday voted unanimously to pass the amended law. 

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Punishment increased from 1 year to 10 years

According to the report, the previous law on animal cruelty offered a prison sentence of one year and a fine ranging from 5,000 to 15,000 euros. The latest amendment will ensure that people accused of committing atrocious acts against animals get a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a fine of between 25,000 to 50,000 euros. 

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"Fair punishment or imprisonment for up to 10 years for animal torturers - Unanimous acceptance of the amendment by all parties," Makis Voridis, Minister of Rural Development and Infrastructure said on Twitter. Voridis had announced his plan to bring the amendment that will ensure tougher punishment for animal abuse crimes after a series of animal cruelty acts received widespread condemnation from the people of Greece. 

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The amendment was co-signed by the Minister of Finance, Christos Staikouras, the Minister of Justice, Konstantinos Tsiaras, and the Minister of Interior, Panagiotis Theodorikakos, who all extended their support for the bill in making the legal framework of punishing people who commit animal abuse more stringent. Last month, a man in Heraklion on the island of Crete mutilated a dog, and days later another man near Athens stabbed a dog, which infuriated the public. 

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(Image Credit: AP)