Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 2 Apr. (Press Europa) –
Fernando Martín, the island coordinator of the Pacma Animalist Party in La Palma, has voiced his strong conviction regarding the brutal murder and decapitation of a dog named ‘Boli’ in the municipality of Tegueste approximately a week ago.
“We empathise with the grief of those responsible and all others impacted by this act of extreme cruelty, which is unbecoming of a civilised society,” he stated in a press release, emphasising that such occurrences “are not isolated.”
Pacma has condemned the “inadequate institutional and legislative response” towards incidents of animal cruelty, which they regard as “an intolerable leniency.”
The island coordinator further points out that his party has been alerting to the “urgent need for an update to the Criminal Code, ensuring that animal cruelty offences carry penalties proportional to the severity of the offence and align with the legal acknowledgement of animals as sentient beings in the Civil Code itself.”
In this context, he notes that the Civil Code reform in 2021 was a “step forward” in recognising the sensitivity of animals and paving the way for their legal protection; however, it was quickly overshadowed by an inadequate criminal reform, where penalties seldom lead to imprisonment, permitting many offenders to return to complete impunity.
He also highlights the presence of “a cowardly political class lacking moral integrity, where proposals, such as increasing the penalties for animal abuse, are undermined by amendments designed solely to shield various groups, thereby generating impunity in cases like the one recently reported.”
The existing penalties for animal possession remain largely symbolic and lack effective enforcement mechanisms.
“We urge the legislative and executive authorities from Pacma to heed the voices of citizens, who are largely outraged by these crimes, as they advocate for a substantial reform of the Criminal Code that strengthens penalties for animal abuse, similar to what occurs in other European nations where such offences can result in up to five years in prison,” Martín asserts. He emphasises the necessity for current limits of the law to apply exemplary sanctions rather than downplaying the seriousness of these actions.
