Legislators will have to reduce fines and penalties that punish animal abuse and other unconstitutional issues found in the Animal Welfare Law, which was passed in first reading by the Legislative Assembly on July 26th.
This was admitted by legislators from different political parties after knowing about a ruling from the Fourth Chamber: The law was declared unconstitutional because, according to the Chamber, fines are disproportionate.
We must reduce penalties: they cannot be longer than three years. We need to establish new sentences,
said Ronny Monge, from Partido de Liberación Nacional (PLN).
The initiative establishes prison terms, that go from 6 months to 2 years, for those who harm an animal. The sentence will be up to 3 years if the person kills an animal.
In addition, Monge explained that some concepts, such as “what is an animal?”, must be better defined. Parliament must review comments made by the Board.
He added that the initiative should be submitted to the Commission on Constitutional Consultations or the Environmental Commission to make the appropriate corrections.