The Court of Appeal has ruled that a man who killed his neighbour’s cat must serve a two-month prison sentence, overturning a lower court’s decision to suspend it, the Movement of Ecologists – Citizens’ Cooperation said on Thursday.
The court upheld an appeal by the Attorney General against the three-year suspension, the party said in a statement welcoming the ruling.
According to the facts of the case cited by the party, the man killed the cat on 5 August 2021 by repeatedly hitting it on the head with a blunt object and then throwing it into a rubbish bin, where it died.
The Ecologists described the ruling as an important development and a start in the right direction, as it sent the message that such incidents could not be treated with leniency that played down the seriousness of the offence.
The party called for the law to be properly enforced, with its strictest penalties imposed where a case is serious enough and sentences acting as a real deterrent in cases of particular brutality, torture and deliberate killing. Suspending prison sentences should not be an easy way out, especially where a case shows particular cruelty, it said.
Under the Animal Protection and Welfare Law, as cited by the party, a first conviction carries up to 24 months in prison, a fine of up to 20,000 euros, or both. A second or later conviction carries up to 36 months in prison, a fine of up to 30,000 euros, or both. Courts may also ban offenders from owning, keeping or caring for animals.
The coordinator of the party’s animal action group said every animal has the right to life and to protection from violence, adding that zero tolerance was needed towards those who abuse and kill animals.
