178 criminal cases regarding animal cruelty have been opened this year

This year, 178 criminal cases concerning animal cruelty (Article 299 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) have been initiated, already surpassing last year’s total of 175 cases.

Since 2015, 1,599 criminal cases have been recorded. The number of animal cruelty cases surged in 2018 following the introduction of new fines for offenders. In 2021, penalties were increased to include possible imprisonment; however, due to the war, there has been no significant rise in relevant cases or sentences.

ImageData

How the number of criminal cases for animal cruelty has changed

Year	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Number of recorded cases	70	113	105	184	199	222	203	150	175	178

As of October 1, 2024, there have been significant changes in the number of criminal cases regarding animal cruelty. This year, 32 criminal cases—representing 18% of all cases opened—have reached court. In the previous two years, this figure remained around 24%.

This means that nearly one in five cases opened this year has reached court, compared to nearly one in four cases in 2022-2023.

In the court registry, some cases have led to real prison sentences for animal cruelty. For example, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, a man received a separate three-year prison sentence after attacking an Alabai dog named “Imir” with a machete knife during a robbery.

However, conditional sentences still prevail. In Odesa, a man was sentenced to a conditional five-year term after fatally stabbing a stray dog in the neck twice.

Context

The issue of animal cruelty is regulated by Article 299 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. It states that animal cruelty includes physical abuse of animals and inciting them to attack each other. Offenders may be punished with fines or imprisonment for a term of 1 to 8 years.