Bill to Prohibit Animal Cruelty to be Presented as an Amendment to Islamic Penal Code

The senior advisor to the head of the Department of Environment states that a bill to prohibit animal cruelty will soon be presented to the Islamic Consultative Assembly as an amendment to the Islamic Penal Code. The Mehr News Agency reported this on Tuesday (October 24) citing Farhad Dabiri. Mr. Dabiri mentioned that the Department of Environment has utilized input from NGOs, artists, municipalities, the Ministry of Interior, and the Veterinary Organization in drafting this bill. However, since the Judiciary was not aligned with a separate bill sent to the Assembly regarding general penal law, it was decided that this bill would be prepared within the framework of the Islamic Penal Code. According to the senior advisor, the environmental content of the animal protection bill and the proposed penalties will be submitted to the Judiciary to be included as amendments or notes to the Islamic Penal Code that the Judiciary is currently drafting. What has been sent to the Judiciary through the government's legislative commission will be presented as an amendment to the Islamic Penal Code, adding five notes to Article 679 of the Islamic Penal Code. Article 679 specifies penalties for anyone who kills animals that are prohibited from being hunted, halal animals, or animals belonging to others. According to Dabiri, the notes state that 'anyone who kills, poisons, or injures animals without intent and necessity will be punished with a fine of up to 10 million rials and free services for animals for up to six months.' The senior advisor also added that the next note emphasizes that 'only euthanasia for disease control and to prevent animal suffering, in accordance with laws and regulations and with the Veterinary Organization's approval, is exempt from this provision.' Dabiri stated that 'any form of cruelty to animals' is prohibited, and according to the mentioned article, 'torture, beating, mutilation, imprisonment, instigating fights, and exploitation that causes pain and suffering to animals is a crime, punishable to the same extent as killing.' The head of the Supreme Council of Environment's secretariat noted that this means 'cruelty and torture are considered equivalent to murder.' The Ilna News Agency also reported that this article refers to animal care laws, stating that 'artificial breeding, transfer of animals, and abandoning owned animals in urban areas that cause harm to animals will also be subject to the same penalties.' According to him, 'anyone who keeps animals in unsuitable conditions in zoos and outside zoos, as well as in circuses, or improperly transfers animals, will face the same penalties as those who torture animals.' This university professor also mentioned that sharing images or videos of animal cruelty on social media with 'the intent to disturb public opinion rather than inform' is considered a crime and is punishable. This bill comes after multiple reports of abuse towards domestic and wild animals in various cities in Iran and the sharing of images on social media that have outraged public sentiment. The continuous sharing of images and videos of animal abuse in cyberspace led the head of the Cyber Crime Prevention Department of the Police to announce what he called serious police action against animal abusers. In May 2016, Alireza Azar Derakhsh announced that sharing images of animal abuse in cyberspace constitutes 'violence,' and the cyber police will address this violence according to the law. September 20 has been designated as 'Anti-Violence Against Animals Day' in Iran, and animal rights activists hope to use this occasion to compare the status of animals in Iran each year with previous years and to plan and strive for their improvement.