Lawmakers agree on one-year jail term for animal abuse

Earlier this month, animal rights advocates gathered with their pets to march from Tap Seac Square to the Legislative Assembly opposing the latest changes to the Animal Protection Bill

The Legislative Assembly (AL) 1st Standing Committee agreed to reduce sentences for animal abuse to a maximum of one year, lawmaker Kwan Tsui Hang, president of the committee, said yesterday.
The government’s new draft of the Animal Protection Bill, currently being discussed by AL’s 1st Standing Committee, suggests that animal abuse offenders be sentenced to up to one year of jail time.
Ms Kwan said that out of the eight legislators attending yesterday’s meeting, only one lawmaker expressed an opposing opinion, pushing for a higher sentence. The government had previously discussed a three-
year maximum sentence.
“The spirit of this law is to prevent and warn people not to commit acts of animal cruelty,” she stressed, recalling that Macau’s legal framework features lower penalties than those of neighboring regions. Furthermore, she stressed that government research and figures show that there aren’t many cases of animal abuse here.
“According to government statistics, people do care for their pets. Of course we need to punish animal abuse cases, but there aren’t that many cases,” she added.
Speaking on the sidelines of yesterday’s meeting, the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Sonia Chan, also pointed out the need to take Macau’s legal framework into account when deciding on the maximum jail sentence for animal abuse.
Animal associations have called for stronger penalties, but Ms Chan hinted that the government will not be making any concessions at this time.
“We need to take into consideration the framework of our Criminal Code. Our main goal is to raise awareness among society over animal protection, so we are planning to maintain this one-year maximum sentence,” she told reporters.
Ms Kwan reiterated that since the Animal Protection Bill is a new law in Macau, lawmakers agreed that a one-year jail term for animal abuse is an adequate sentence. However, she did not rule out the possibility of further amendments to introduce higher penalties in the future.
Ms Kwan hinted that the Criminal Code already covers cases of criminal reoffending, even when it comes to animal abuse.
According to the 1st Standing Committee’s president, AL legal advisers suggested that when a citizen commits a crime against animals more than once, judges might consider applying jail terms longer than one year.
Lawmaker Kwan acknowledged that the discussions concerning the Animal Protection Bill amongst AL’s 1st Standing Committee will not be completed before the year’s end.
“We will meet with government representatives to further discuss administrative sanctions. The government will be amending the bill’s current draft (…) We can’t complete it within this legislative term. We need to wait for the new draft,” she said.
Ms Kwan added, “We still need to add many changes to the draft.” The government and lawmakers are discussing whether pet owners should be held accountable in case, for instance, a dog bites someone else.
The lawmaker recalled that, until now, one would only be requested to pay a fine, but they’re now considering introducing other sanctions. “The committee believes that this law should reflect upon this matter, too,” she expressed.
Ms Kwan concluded by stressing that the motivation behind the Animal Protection Bill is to raise awareness of animal protection among society, and to educate people to respect and care for animals.
The Animal Protection Bill passed its first reading at the AL last October.