Question 43166 — animals

Summary

Mr. Cédric Villani questions the Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice, about the lack of condemnation of acts of cruelty and mistreatment against wild animals living in a state of freedom. Serious abuse or abuse of a sexual nature and acts of cruelty towards domestic animals, tamed or held in captivity are punishable by article 521-1 of the penal code with three years' imprisonment and a fine of 45,000 euros. THE wild animals living in a state of freedom are therefore excluded from this article and no article protects them against these practices. However, wild animals living in a state of freedom can be subjected to acts of cruelty. For example, in March 2021, a video of a badger being subjected to cruel acts was shared on social media. The animal had been hit by a car and then taken to a party. In the video, we see the animal being kicked, jumped on with both feet, and beaten with a stick while still alive. Contacted by several animal rights organizations, the public prosecutor decided to dismiss the case, on the grounds that these acts were perpetrated on a wild animal living in a state of freedom. However, the sensitivity of this animal, its capacity to suffer, does not differ whether it is free or under human care. This leads to legal inconsistency, where a bred wild animal can lose its protection as soon as it is released into the wild. This inconsistency was amply highlighted by the legal experts speaking at the conference organized by the Animal Law, Ethics and Sciences (LFDA) foundation on November 16, 2021, in which the Minister of Ecological Transition participated by video. During this conference, the LFDA revealed an opinion poll conducted by Ifop: 85% of French people questioned are in favor of extending the ban on acts of cruelty to wild animals in the wild. Therefore, he would like to know if the minister intends to present a bill to remedy this inconsistency and condemn acts of mistreatment and cruelty against wild animals living in freedom; this written question was proposed by the Droit foundation animal, ethics and science.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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