10 animal torturers jailed in Hungary per year

200-250 proceedings are initiated because of animal torture every year and an average of 10 defendants go to prison for their crimes. The National Judicial Office told: a total of 48 people have been put behind bars for animal cruelty, magyaridok.hu wrote.

11 people were jailed in 2011, 2012 and 2014, while 9 people were sentenced in 2013 and 6 in 2015. The Animal Protection Act has sanctioned the mistreatment of vertebrate animals so far.

From 2016 keeping dogs on chains is illegal, too. Magyaridok.hu knows that many residents of rural areas give their dogs to the flayers. Flayers say that the number of stray dogs can be multiplied due to the law, especially in larger cities. The ban, however, affects people living in rural areas, since there are many farms with no fences, and the dogs run away without chains. One man said that they will not care about the law, because he is sure that nobody will actually monitor it.

According to Istvan Szilagyi, curator of Feherkereszt Animal Protection League, the legislation has not been communicated well, therefore a lot of people did not know about the law. The expert thinks the term “permanently tethered” will result in several disputes, because the decree does not say anything about the duration.