With 32 votes in favor and one abstention, the Jalisco legislature Thursday approved reforms to the State Penal Code that could see people who intentionally kill animals or subject them to intense cruelty sent to prison for up to three years.
Judges will be able to hand down jail terms from six months to three years, with an option of extending that by 18 months if an animal is subject to “prolonged suffering.”
The new law has several excluding categories. Obviously, they include the killing of animals for human consumption, but also the deaths or maiming of animals during bullfights, cockfights, charreadas and horse and dog races. The law does not include the prohibition of animals in circuses.
Animal welfare activists in the public gallery cheered and clapped when the law was passed.
Intense public pressure forced legislators to act quickly in the aftermath of a violent act of animal cruelty in which a man set fire to eight puppies in front of his two young daughters. An online petition set up after the incident calling for changes in Jalisco law garnered thousands of signatures.
Animal welfare activists held several demonstrations last weekend culminating Monday with a protest outside the State Congress building in downtown Guadalajara. Nearly all the demonstrators carried banners or signs demanding tougher penalties for animal cruelty. Some brought their pets with them to the protest.
Proposed by the opposition National Action Party (PAN), the initiative was criticized on the floor of the house by the representative of the Movimiento Ciudadano, Ricardo Rodriguez, who called the law “populist.” He said it was hypocritical to penalize cruelty to dogs and cats while allowing similar acts to carry on at bullfights and cockfights.
Rodriguez said jail terms for such offenses were “excessive” and that the rich would be able to walk free. (People charged under the law will be able to post bail.)
Legislators rejected Rodríguez’s proposal for an alternative punishment of 1,642 hours of community service. Spectators in the gallery booed and hissed as he laid out his proposal.
The State Congress also ratified changes to its constitution that recognize the concept of “animalicidio” – a word used to signify the deliberate killing of an animal. This makes Jalisco the first Mexican state to include comprehensive and specific laws regarding animal cruelty in its constitution. Intentionally killing a dog or a cat is a criminal offense in all U.S. states.
The man responsible for the death of the eight puppies faces a maximum 60,000-peso fine from Zapopan city hall for breaching municipal ordinances. He and his family fled Colonia Tabachines this weekend after animal welfare groups vowed to protest outside his house.
Some of those demonstrating in Guadalajara Monday had called on the state government to go further and ban cockfights, bullfights and remove horse-drawn carriages (calandrias) from the city center. City health officials said later that all the horses working on the city center were inspected on a regular basis and are in good condition.