Animal Cruelty Punishment Raised From 6 Months To 5 Years In UK
- Thomas Nelson
- December 20, 2020
- Animals
- 0 Comments
Mahatma Gandhi once said that the greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated. In England and Wales, a new law that raises the punishment for animal cruelty from 6 months to 5 years takes that notion seriously. The bill passed shortly after another that increased the maximum punishment for cruelty against service dogs and horses.
Prior to theĀ Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill, the maximum punishment for animal cruelty was 6 months in jail. Now, the harshest sentences can land you in prison for 5 years. The bill assigns cruelty to puppies and kittens, dog fighting, and neglecting farm animals to be the worst offenses.
The bill allows the UK’s court system to do what they’ve been trying to do for some time now but were unable due to the constraints of the law: hand down harsher sentencing for animal cruelty.
The bill compliments Finn’s Law, named after a police dog who was stabbed in the line of duty, that offers additional protections for service dogs as well as horses.
Finn, a German shepherd who served alongside PC Dave Wardell, was grievously wounded when stabbed in the head and chest by a suspect in a taxi cab robbery. Finn latched onto the suspect and refused to let go, despite being near-fatally wounded. Wardell also suffered a knife injury to the hand in the skirmish.
Finn initially wasn’t expected to survive but incredibly managed to pull through, becoming the posterdog for Finn’s Law. Finn’s Law helped pave a way for harsher sentencing for other forms of animal cruelty.
The animal welfare bill has the support of major animal welfare groups and enjoys a 70% approval rating among the public.
“There is no place in this country for animal cruelty,” said Environment Secretary Michael Gove, who spearheaded the passage of the bill. “That is why I want to make sure that those who abuse animals are met with the full force of the law.”
The passage of the bill makes the UK’s sentencing laws around crimes against animals some of the harshest in Europe.
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