The president of the republic this Saturday defended that animal welfare “should be properly enshrined in law”, recalling that parliament can do this “through ordinary legislation” or through the ongoing constitutional review process.
In a note on the official page of the Presidency of the Republic entitled “President of the Republic Defends Respect for Animal Welfare”, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa states that “he has received several messages about the prohibition and punishment of animal abuse “.
“Today this issue constitutes for our society a widely shared value and an indisputable requirement, shared and defended by the President of the Republic, which must be duly recorded”is in the statement.
The head of state recalls that “with a constitutional review process underway, the parliament can approach it in this context, as well as the legislature, within the framework of ordinary law, the rules and sanctions applicable in the field of good – compacting and strengthen – be animal”.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) of the Constitutional Court on Wednesday asked for the unconstitutionality of the standard that makes it punishable by a fine or imprisonment for anyone who kills or mistreats pets without a valid reason, according to a press release released on Wednesday. fair by the Attorney General’s office.
According to the memorandum, the request for unconstitutionality arises after three decisions by the TC on the matter.
Article 387 of the Penal Code defines as a crime of mistreatment of companion animals the conduct of anyone who, for no legitimate reason, inflicts pain, suffering or any other physical ill-treatment on a companion animal (e.g. dogs and cats), a crime punishable by imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to 120 days.
The information about this initiative of the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Constitutional Court was provided by Expresso ‘online’, which said that the plenary assembly of judges of the Constitutional Court will decide the future of the animal protection law, which came into life eight years ago called and the target of three decrees declared unconstitutional by the TC.
According to Expresso, the TC had already declared the law unconstitutional in serious cases, such as that of the female Pantufa who died in agony after undergoing a cold-blooded caesarean section. The owner, who threw the living dogs in the bin, was convicted at first instance, but later acquitted – and in another case where a dog was abused by its owner for six years.
In response to this request from the Member of Parliament, the organization Intervenção e Resgate Animal (IRA) is today promoting a demonstration in Lisbon in defense of the criminalization of animal cruelty.
Source: DN
