The death of 9-year-old Yorkshire terrier Knopa in Sofia’s Krastova Vada district has once again brought to the fore the question of whether penalties for animal abuse in Bulgaria are sufficiently severe and effective.
The dog died on November 1 after being kicked. Two days later, thousands of protesters gathered outside the home of the detained man. There is still no final conviction in the case.
“He told me to stay at home, but at that moment I was already running – running as fast as I could, still in my house clothes, to save my ‘baby’. Unfortunately, it was already too late,” Knopa’s owner, Snezhana Kishchuk, recounts.
Final convictions have been handed down in only some of the cases
On February 3, 2026, the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (GDCOC) dismantled a group in the Svishtov village of Tsarevets. According to the investigation, the participants filmed animal abuse in an improvised studio and sold the videos through closed online channels and platforms abroad.
A total of 81 acts of cruelty toward animals and 15 videos containing pornographic material were identified. The defendants were handed effective prison sentences of two years each.
Another case that sparked protests was the death of Maya, a 14-year-old stray dog, in Sofia in November 2025. A doctor from the Military Medical Academy was dismissed, but was released on bail of 5,000 leva. A year later, there is still no verdict.
The case in Pernik continues
In Pernik, two defendants have been charged with participating in an organized criminal group, animal cruelty and money laundering. According to the charges, they filmed videos of animal abuse for payment and sold them online.
The two remain in custody, while the gathering of evidence continues. “The clients are from all over the world. So far, we have not identified a Bulgarian citizen who has any involvement,” prosecutor Albena Stoilova said.
The Cybercrime Directorate at the GDCOC described the case as unprecedented in terms of cruelty. There is still no final conviction in the case.
The severity of the penalty is not the only problem
According to Petya Altimirska of the KAZHI association, the sanctions provided for by law are among the most severe in Bulgaria. She уточнява, че деянията, извършени преди увеличаването на наказанията, се разглеждат по старите законови текстове.
“It is very important to monitor the judicial process and, as citizens, to be active in relation to the prosecution service so that the sentences can be challenged,” Altimirska said.Former chair of the Sofia District Court and lawyer Metodiy Lalov believes that the problem is not limited to the severity of the sanctions.
“The institutions act slowly and clumsily; they do not see cases through to the end, so that there can be both prevention and justice,” Lalov commented.In his words, animal abuse is an expression of deeper aggression in society. Altimirska also points to the lack of effective control over owners, registration, the keeping of animals and animal protection.
Both insist that citizens should file reports and seek accountability from the institutions when they fail to act, but without taking the law into their own hands. The next decisions in the cases in Sofia and Pernik will show whether the investigations will end with final court rulings.
Sources: btvnovinite.bg