The UK government plans to toughen punishment for cruelty to animals.
Under the new bill, the court should have the authority to determine fines in an unlimited amount, as well as prohibit violators of the law in the future to get animals. The maximum possible sentence is five years in prison.
The British government plans to publish the final bill by the end of this year, and early next it will be tabled in Parliament.
The first animal protection law in Britain was passed in 1822. Since then, it has changed and supplemented more than once. Over the years, the Law on Dogs (1928), the Regulation on the Control of Dogs (1930), the Law on the Prohibition of the Throwing of Animals (1960), and other regulatory documents came into force. In 2007, the “Animal Welfare Act” came into force, which establishes five freedoms for all types of domestic animals: freedom of proper nutrition, freedom of comfortable living conditions, freedom to be alone or in a company, the right to regular checks in case of abnormal behavior, the right to protect against pain, suffering, illness and injury. Violation of these rights and freedoms in relation to our smaller brothers is punishable by a fine of up to 5 thousand pounds.
