Charities 'thrilled as animal cruelty sentencing set to increase tenfold

Animal abusers in England could face up to five years in prison under new plans unveiled last week. Currently, the maximum sentence for animal cruelty is six months, but the government plans to introduce new legislation that would increase this to five years. Environment secretary Michael Gove announced the plans at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester this week. He said: ‘We are a nation of animal lovers and so we must ensure that those who commit the most shocking cruelty towards animals face suitably tough punishments. ‘These plans will give courts the tools they have requested to deal with the most abhorrent acts. ‘This is one part of our plan to deliver world-leading standards of animal welfare in the years ahead.’ Under the government’s plans, courts will retain the ability to hand out an unlimited fine and ban an offender from owning animals in the future, but crucially...
Source: Veterinary Record - Category: Veterinary Research Tags: News section Source Type: research