🔳 We are giving you an exclusive insight into the new article of the Criminal Code of Montenegro "Training animals for fighting and organizing animal fights"
Article 309a
(1) Whoever trains animals for fighting, organizes or finances animal fights or fights between animals or people, or who organizes or participates in betting on such fights, shall be punished by a fine and imprisonment from six months to three years.
(2) Whoever attends or facilitates the attendance of a child in the fights referred to in paragraph 1 of this article, shall be punished by a fine and imprisonment for up to one year.
(3) Whoever breeds, keeps, sells or hands over to another person an animal for the purpose referred to in paragraph 1 of this article, shall be punished by a prison sentence of six months to two years and a fine.
(4) Animal from para. 1 and 3 of this article shall be forfeited, unless it belongs to a person who is not related to the offense referred to in para. 1, 2 and 3 of this article.
◾ ◽ ◾ ◽ ◾ ◽ ◾ ◽ ◾ ◽ ◾ ◽ ◾ ◽ ◾ ◽ ◾ ◽ ◾ ◽ ◾ ◽ ◾ ◽ ◾ ◽ ◾ ◽ ◾ ◽ ◾ ◽ ◾ ◽ ◾ ◽ ◾ ◽ ◾ ◽
Until now, animal fighting has not been defined as a criminal offense, but only as a misdemeanor in the Animal Welfare Protection Act, for which a fine of 60 to 3000 euros is prescribed for natural persons, while the new article 309a of the Criminal Code is very extensive and modeled on countries such as Italy and the USA, which are leaders in this field. Even just attending fights for the purpose of watching without betting, which used to be a key factor (motivation by gain or profit) or keeping dogs for fighting on behalf of someone else, are criminalized.
The goal of this legal solution was to encompass and criminalize all activities that lead to the animal fight, so now even those who keep or feed animals for the organizers of animal fights, even if they do not directly participate in them, will not be invisible before the law.
We especially wanted to protect all persons under the age of 18 from attending the fights, so allowing minors to attend and watch animal fights also became punishable.
We also wanted to protect animals that are used in fighting, so they will not be able to remain in the possession of those who used them for fighting, and if the animal was stolen from its owner to be used in fighting, it will be returned to him.
We owe special thanks to the Directorate for Criminal and Civil Legislation of the Ministry of Justice of Montenegro.
#309a
J.D./M.A. in Sustainability
3moGreat news, and thank you for doing this amazingly important work! The world needs more people dedicated to advocating for species who cannot speak up for themselves.