How is animal abuse punished?
The mistreatment of animals is regulated in the Penal Code of Mexico City. The penalty against whoever assaults an animal ranges from six months to four years, depending on the severity of the damage.
Article 350 bis states that whoever assaults the life of an animal, but does not put his or her life at risk, could be sentenced up to two years.
“Anyone who performs acts of abuse or cruelty against any non-human animal species, causing injuries of any kind without endangering the life of the animal, it will be imposed from six months to two years in prison and from fifty to one hundred days fine “. establishes the legislation.
The penalty will be four years for anyone who causes the death of an animal. Article 350 of the Code maintains that the fine will be up to 200 days of Unit of Measurement and Update (UMA).
“Anyone who commits acts of mistreatment or cruelty against any non-human animal species, causing their death, will be imposed two to four years in prison and a fine of two hundred to four hundred days, as well as the seizure of all the animals they may have. under their care or protection”, he says.
Has animal abuse been punished?
In Mexico there are multiple cases of animal abuse, but not all have gone unpunished. One of the most recent cases was the sanction of 10 years in prison given to a man who poisoned two rescue dogs, Athos and Tango, in 2021, which were part of the emergency corps of the Mexican Red Cross.
In November 2021, a man who kept 27 dogs overcrowded in the Peralvillo neighborhood, Cuauhtémoc mayor’s office, was sentenced to 2 years and 1 month in prison. He was also fined 76,000 pesos and banned from retrieving his dogs.
In 2019, the release of Fidel “N” who had been sentenced for animal abuse caused controversy. The Central de Abastos worker was prosecuted for having set fire to a pitbull dog, however a judge of the Superior Court of Justice (TSJ-CDMX) determined that it was not a serious crime.
