The Office of the Attorney General will issue a directive focused on the prosecution and investigation of crimes that harm animals, under the principle of dignity.
The Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa Delgado, participated in a debate on animal abuse, which was organized by the House of Representatives. In his speech, he stated that the participation of all institutions is needed in order to advance with effective actions that guarantee the protection and defense of animals.
“The Office of the Attorney General will continue strengthening GELMA group (Grupo de Lucha contra el Maltrato Animal), and we will continue working in a coordinated manner, we will continue with accusations, we will continue achieving exemplary sentences (…) if we protect our animals, and the environment, we will be less violent, we will be more civilized and we will truly be a 21st-century society”, stressed the Attorney General.
He also pointed out that since he took office, investigations about animal abuse have been prioritized and a special boost has been given to these cases. This has led to producing important results.
“We have conducted 61 convictions, between 2020 and 2021. 112 accusation hearing in these two years, 103 accusation hearings requested in the service centers and pending, 67 awareness forums for police, mayors and governments; in addition, five national and international events related to animal protection”, stated the Attorney General Barbosa Delgado.
He also emphasized that the investigative work has been also spread out to municipalities and rural areas, which has allowed an accurate diagnosis of the criminal complaints that have been lodged.
“We are clear that, concerning the crimes that affect animals, 65% of the 100% of complaints are related to companion animals, 20% to farm animals, 10% to wild fauna and 5% to exotic animals”, he specified.
The Attorney General announced that next week, he will sign the first directive related to the investigation and prosecution of crimes against animals which will serve as guidance for all prosecutors from the different Sectional Offices and directorates of the institution. The document´s main axis will be animal dignity.
Finally, he stated that it is of vital importance for the Attorney General´s Office to punish behaviors related to animals mistreatment.
“We are giving a different meaning to this, it is not only about the functioning of GELMA, group for the Fight against Animal Abuse and it is not only about the fact that resources are allocated towards GELMA or to other sectors. Currently, we have different fields of action, and we are acting in all of them, but we cannot say that because we have a number of fields of action we are going to omit this one, which is also very important in the framework of the protection of our animals”, concluded.