A new case of brutal animal cruelty has caused huge outrage in Bulgaria: a man ran over a dog with his car in the capital's "Razsadnika" district. The Sofia District Prosecutor's Office will open pre-trial proceedings, the Minister of Justice announced. A protest is being organized for this Thursday demanding more serious penalties for animal cruelty. It will be held in front of the Military Medical Academy, where the perpetrator works.
Earlier this year, Bulgaria adopted amendments to the Criminal Code (CC), which significantly increased the penalties for animal cruelty - including up to ten years in prison. The reason for this was the revealed crimes of Gabriela Sashova and Krasimir Georgiev, accused of participating in an organized criminal group in connection with cruelty and causing the death of animals. The two remain in custody, but for the moment there is no sentence - neither for them nor for other perpetrators.
Before the changes to the Criminal Code, at the end of 2022, the Ministry of Interior reported that 1,060 cases of animal cruelty were registered for 2020, 2021 and 2022, of which only 141 were revealed.
What are the penalties and how are they applied in other countries in Europe?
Bulgaria currently ranks at the top in terms of the severity of penalties for animal cruelty with a potential maximum ten-year effective sentence. According to Greek law, cruelty, including killing or torturing animals, is punishable by imprisonment of up to 10 years.
In recent years, many countries in Europe have amended their laws, increasing the penalties for violence and cruelty against animals. The UK, for example, increased the maximum sentence to five years in prison in 2021, up from just six months. In Germany, Switzerland and Hungary, the maximum sentence is three years in prison, and in France and Portugal, two years. Austria has no effective sentencing practice for animal cruelty.
There are also significant differences in the maximum fines for animal crimes across countries. While in Ireland the maximum possible fine is €250,000, in Austria it is a maximum of €7,500. In Spain, fines are also very high for the most serious crimes - up to €200,000.
What is the penalty
European animal protection laws have evolved from basic provisions against cruelty to comprehensive frameworks that recognise animals as sentient beings deserving legal protection and respect. The EU provides basic standards through directives on animal testing in science, breeding, transport and slaughterhouses, while member states implement these requirements and often go beyond them with additional national protection measures. In most countries, these include legal bans on illegal breeding, inhumane treatment of farm animals, bans on animal fighting and penalties for causing physical suffering.
In Hungary, for example, giving animals as prizes in competitions is also punishable, as is begging with animals. However, no one has been sentenced to imprisonment in the country so far, only suspended sentences. In the Czech Republic, the law allows animals to be confiscated by the relevant authorities if they are found to be living in poor conditions. In Finland, it is forbidden to use electric leashes and metal spikes, as well as the use of animals for any circus or other performances.
In Norway, abandoning pets is a serious offense, for which fines of up to 50,000 Norwegian kroner (about 4,300 euros) are imposed. For serious cases of neglect of animals, Norwegian law provides for imprisonment, and for repeated violations, the right to keep pets for life is also revoked.
In Portugal, landlords do not have the right to prohibit tenants from keeping animals in a rented apartment, and in Spain it is forbidden to sell cats and dogs in pet stores. In France, the curriculum includes classes on ethical treatment of animals.
Are these penalties enforced?
The United Kingdom, Switzerland and Germany have the most effective systems for prosecuting and reporting animal abuse, thanks in part to active NGOs and relative transparency. However, no country consistently enforces the harshest possible penalties: most crimes are punishable by fines or suspended sentences, and imprisonment is rare almost everywhere. Centralized and up-to-date statistics on convictions by country are difficult to obtain, but trends suggest significant gaps in enforcement even in countries with advanced legislation.
However, in recent years there have been several cases where severe penalties have been imposed for animal cruelty in various countries in Europe. The most famous recent case involved a European dogfighting ring in the UK. Four members of the gang were convicted at Chelmsford Crown Court in June 2024. One of them received a five-year prison sentence, and the others received four years, two years and 18 months' effective sentences. They were also banned from keeping dogs for life.
In France, in 2024, a court in Lille sentenced a man to eight months in prison for beating a cat. In Hungary, a woman received a 10-month effective sentence for animal cruelty in March 2025. She had kept over 100 malnourished cats and one dog in appalling conditions. The court found her guilty of causing "prolonged suffering to a large number of animals" through gross negligence.
In March 2025, Dutch prosecutors requested a 20-month sentence for a 69-year-old man from Eersel who bred dogs. Over the course of 2.5 years, authorities confiscated more than 700 animals from his kennel, which were kept in small, dirty cages with limited access to clean water or medical care.
Author: Mina Kirkova