| Abstract [eng] |
The topic of criminal liability for cruel treatment of animals is not only relevant based off the increasing amount of crimes in accordance with article 310 of the Criminal Code of Lithuania but is also supported by the development of various legislative amendment projects regarding animal cruelty as well as popularized instances of animal cruelty appearing in the Lithuanian society. The aim of this Masters’ Thesis is to analyze the occurrence of cruel behavior towards animals in accordance to not only the Lithuanian law, but the legal regulation of foreign countries, such as – Austria, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Animal cruelty in a broad sense, as well as its’ complexity and legal terms supporting it, is analyzed in the first part of this Thesis. The main forms of this act and how it manifests in real situations is analyzed in accordance with the national and international legislation regulating these acts. Additionally, the legal development of criminal liability for animal cruelty in Lithuanian law is also analyzed. The focus of the Thesis in the second part examines the manifestation of animal cruelty specifically in a national criminal sense - the main elements and characteristics of such an act are studied, the problems of legal application are distinguished, and the results of criminalization are concluded. In the third part - the main focus is put on the distinction of inhumane acts towards animals from other criminal activities such as: destruction of property (article 187), illegal hunting of fishing (article 272), illegal economic commercial, financial or professional activity (article 202), disruption of public order (article 284). Lastly, the penalties and/or punitive measures for such an act as well as any other sanctions that can be applied are examined in the last part, while putting emphasis on the need of prevention of such acts. Ultimately, it can be concluded, that in the context of Article 310 of the Criminal code of Lithuania – the issues of wording of this article could be resolved with applying more concrete legal wording. |
