Content
- Animal abuse - what can be considered?
- Animal maltreatment - legislation
- Environmental Crimes Law - Article 32 of Federal Law No. 9,605/98
- Brazilian Federal Constitution
- How to report animal abuse
Brazil is one of the few countries in the world that has in its constitution the prohibition of mistreatment of animals! Unfortunately, atrocities against animals occur all the time and not all cases are reported. Often, those who observe abuse do not know how and to whom they should report it. For this reason, PeritoAnimal created this article, so that all Brazilian citizens know how to report animal abuse.
If you have witnessed any kind of animal abuse, regardless of the species, you can and must report! Abandonment, poisoning, imprisonment with a very short rope, unsanitary conditions, mutilations, physical aggression, etc., are all worthy of denunciation whether it is a domestic, wild or exotic animal.
Animal abuse - what can be considered?
Here are some examples of abuse:
- Abandon, beat, beat, maim and poison;
- Keep permanently attached to chains;
- Keep in small and unhygienic places;
- Do not shelter from the sun, rain and cold;
- Leave without ventilation or sunlight;
- Do not give water and food daily;
- Deny veterinary assistance to the sick or injured animal;
- Obliging to work excessively or exceeding your strength;
- Capture wild animals;
- Using animals in shows that might cause them panic or stress;
- Promoting violence such as cockfights, bull-fighting, etc...
You can see other examples of ill-treatment in Decree Law No. 24.645, of July 10, 1934[1].
In this other article we explain what to do if you find an abandoned dog.
Animal maltreatment - legislation
The complaint can be supported both by Article 32 of Federal Law No. 9,605 of 02.12.1998 (Environmental Crimes Law) and by the Brazilian Federal Constitution, of October 5, 1988. Here we will detail the legislation that supports us in denouncing ill-treatment to animals:
Environmental Crimes Law - Article 32 of Federal Law No. 9,605/98
According to this article, a prison sentence of three months to one year and a fine will be applied to those who "commit an act of abuse, ill-treatment, injuring or mutilating wild, domestic or domesticated animals, native or exotic".
In addition, the article states that:
"The same penalties apply to those who carry out a painful or cruel experience on a live animal, even for didactic or scientific purposes, when there are alternative resources."
"The penalty is increased from one-sixth to one-third if the animal is killed."
Brazilian Federal Constitution
Art.23. It is common competence of the Union, the States, the Federal District and the Municipalities:
VI - protect the environment and fight pollution in any of its forms:
VII - preserve forests, fauna and flora;
Article 225. Everyone has the right to an ecologically balanced environment, a good for common use by the people and essential to a healthy quality of life, imposing on power and the community the duty to defend and preserve it for present and future generations.
To ensure the effectiveness of this right, it is up to the public authorities:
VII - protect the Environment by adopting initiatives such as: protecting the fauna and flora, prohibiting, under the law, practices that put their ecological function at risk, cause the extinction of species or submit animals to cruelty.
How to report animal abuse
Whenever you witness an act of animal abuse you must report to law enforcement authorities. You should try to describe as accurately as possible all the facts, location and any data you have about those responsible. If you have some evidence, take it with you to the police station, such as photographs, videos, veterinarian's report, names of witnesses, etc. The more detailed the report, the better!
If you want to know how to report mistreatment of animals, know that the reports can also be made to IBAMA (Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources), which will forward it to the police station closest to the place of aggression. IBAMA's contacts are: telephone 0800 61 8080 (free of charge) and email [email protected].
Other contacts to report animal abuse are:
- Complaint Dial:181
- Military Police: 190
- Federal Public Ministry: http://www.mpf.mp.br/servicos/sac
- Safer Net (crimes of cruelty or apology for mistreatment on the internet): www.safernet.org.br
In São Paulo specifically, if you want to report animal abuse, these are other options:
- Animal Protection Electronic Police Station (Depa) – http://www.ssp.sp.gov.br/depa
- Animal Reporting Dial (Greater São Paulo) - 0800 600 6428
- Web Denunciation – www.webdenuncia.org.br
- Environmental Police: http://denuncia.sigam.sp.gov.br/
- By e-mail: [email protected]
You must not be afraid to report, you must exercise your citizenship and demand that the responsible authorities act in accordance with the law.
All together we can fight crimes against animals!
If you want to read more articles similar to How to report animal abuse?, we recommend that you enter our Curiosities section of the animal world.