A tribunal successful Lesvos sentenced a antheral to 6 years of suspended imprisonment and a good of 30,000 euros for shooting a stray cat. The lawsuit has reignited contention implicit the limits of punishment for cruelty to animals.
In Lesvos, a tribunal sentenced a antheral to 6 years successful prison, suspended for injuring a stray cat. The incidental occurred successful May 2021 successful the village Ippios.
The lawsuit was considered Sole Court of Criminal Appeal for the Northern Aegean Region successful the class of a superior crime, since the effort to termination an carnal successful Greece is prosecuted under stricter legislation.
What did the tribunal decide?
According to the lawsuit materials, the accused shot a stray catcausing her superior injuries. The carnal initially survived, but was near with superior neurological consequences.
The feline was aboriginal taken into attraction and treated, but died successful 2025 from causes not straight related to this incident.
In summation to the main punishment, the antheral was besides fixed 6 months imprisonment for amerciable carrying and use of weapons.
Also Agiasos Police Station antecedently imposed an administrative good connected him successful the magnitude of 30,000 euros.
Both the situation condemnation and the good are suspensive pending appeal.
Why the lawsuit caused controversy
Greece has sharply accrued penalties for carnal cruelty successful caller years. Such cases are progressively being considered not arsenic insignificant violations, but arsenic superior transgression episodes.
On the 1 hand, this reflects a alteration successful society’s cognition towards carnal protection. On the different hand, it raises the question of the proportionality of punishments, particularly when comparing such sentences with the signifier successful cases of violence, threats, robberies and different crimes against people.
Editorial comment
Cruelty to animals cannot beryllium justified either by traditions, oregon irritation, oregon mundane circumstances. Shooting a stray feline is an enactment of violence that should beryllium punished by the state.
But successful this story different question inevitably arises – on the proportionality of punishment. When a idiosyncratic receives 6 years successful situation and a good for injuring an carnal 30,000 eurossociety begins to comparison this condemnation with cases where crimes against radical sometimes extremity overmuch much mildly.
This is where the occupation of trust successful justness arises. The instrumentality should support animals, but the judicial system should not look arsenic if it reacts to nationalist sound much than to the existent standard of the information of crimes.
There is an progressive carnal extortion question successful Greece, and carnal extortion itself is necessary. But Justice should not go affectional compensation for each cases of quality cruelty to animals.
If a idiosyncratic shoots an animal, helium indispensable respond. But if the punishment for such a transgression begins to look harsher than the punishment for crimes against people, society receives not lone a acquisition successful humanity, but besides a caller crushed to uncertainty the communal consciousness of the system.
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