This is a specialized legislative research report published by the National Diet Library in the "Foreign Legislation" series in August 2025, dealing with legal analysis of Italy's criminal code amendments to strengthen animal protection.
Social Background of Legal Amendment
With recent rising social interest in animal rights and improved animal welfare consciousness, demands for severe punishment of animal abuse cases have strengthened globally. In Italy, problems including household animal (pet) abandonment and abuse cases, wildlife poaching and illegal trade, inappropriate treatment of laboratory animals, and animal welfare standard violations in livestock industry have become social issues, with criticism that conventional animal protection legislation had insufficient deterrent effects increasing. Additionally, domestic implementation of EU animal welfare directives, response to international animal rights protection trends, and review of conventional legal status treating animals as "objects" were backgrounds for legal amendment.
Main Content of Criminal Code Amendment
This amendment significantly raises statutory penalties for animal abuse crimes, with even simple animal abuse now carrying 6 months to 4 years imprisonment and €5,000 to €30,000 fines. Particularly malicious cases (animal killing, continuous abuse, harm to multiple animals) face severe penalties of 1 to 6 years imprisonment and €10,000 to €100,000 fines. Additionally, animal death caused by abuse is established as independent "animal killing crime" with maximum 8 years imprisonment. Commercial animal abuse (dogfighting, illegal breeding) faces heavier punishment as organized crime.
Improved Legal Status of Animals
The amended law makes the groundbreaking provision of positioning animals not as mere "objects" but as "sentient beings" (Esseri senzienti), recognizing animals' inherent rights and dignity. This legal status change treats harm to animals not as mere property crimes but as independent crimes against animal life and body. Additionally, obligations to reduce animal pain and stress, proper environment breeding obligations, and veterinary care provision obligations are explicitly stipulated as legal duties.
Strengthened Enforcement Structure and Specialized Agency Roles
For effective detection and punishment of animal abuse cases, police and judicial agencies establish animal protection specialized departments with collaboration systems connecting veterinarians, animal behavior specialists, and animal protection organizations. Professional knowledge and skill-requiring operations including animal abuse evidence collection, victim animal rescue and treatment, and psychological approaches to perpetrators are institutionalized. Additionally, support systems including public shelter systems protecting victim animals from abuse cases, public burden for treatment costs, and foster care systems are established.
Consistency with EU Animal Welfare Policy
This amendment has systematic design ensuring consistency with EU animal welfare directives, animal transport regulations, and laboratory animal protection directives while improving Italy's unique animal protection standards. Particularly positioned as important policy issues are abuse prevention in EU-wide animal movement and trade, thorough implementation of 3R principles (replacement, reduction, refinement) in animal experiments, and livestock industry animal welfare standard strictness. Additionally, ensuring animal welfare standards in importing animals and animal-derived products from third countries is legally stipulated.
Impact on Animal Experiments and Livestock Industry
The amended law strictens protection standards for laboratory animals in medical research, cosmetics development, and food safety testing, legally promoting alternative method development and introduction. Additionally, in livestock industry, prohibition of overcrowding in factory farming, thorough humane processing at slaughter, and animal welfare assurance during transport are strengthened. While this increases related industry compliance burden, sustainable industry development considering animal welfare is expected.
Relationship with International Animal Protection Trends
Italy's animal protection legislation strengthening is positioned as policy transformation aligned with international trends including animal rights advanced countries like Germany, France, and the Netherlands, US animal abuse felony classification, and rising animal protection consciousness in Asia-Pacific countries. International cooperation in international wildlife trade regulation (CITES), animal experiment international standard unification, and sustainable trade of animal-derived products also becomes important issues.
Social Education and Consciousness Reform
Parallel to legal amendment, social education measures including animal welfare education enhancement in school education, expanded public support for animal protection organizations, and animal abuse prevention awareness activity promotion are implemented. Particularly positioned as important policy goals are next-generation animal welfare consciousness inheritance, human-animal coexistence society construction, and life respect value cultivation.
The article conducts comprehensive analysis from criminal law, animal law, and comparative law perspectives of what influence Italy's animal protection legislation strengthening has on EU-wide and international animal rights protection development, and what insights it provides as a legal system model for human-animal coexistence society construction.