“This story seems crazy to me. Pascal Praud was indignant on Monday at a new Spanish law which would have “decriminalized sexual acts with animals”.
“I don’t know if you see the deal! », began by launching the host on his show L’Heure des Pros, after an on-set debate on the origins of Covid-19. “There is a subject that I saw, this subject is not treated anywhere, he continued. According to the Spanish newspaper Mundotoro, […] it’s done, sexual acts against animals will no longer be considered a criminal offense, if there is no injury to the animal. […]. This measure is established by the new law on animal welfare. »
The excerpt from the show is circulating on Facebook and Twitter, prompting indignant comments. Pascal Praud is not the only one to worry about this reading of this text of law: the Polish Minister of Justice also movedattacking the transition to the left-wing government in power in Spain.
FAKE OFF
A new law on animal welfare was passed by the Spanish Congress on February 9. However, the change mentioned by Pascal Praud and Mundotoro concerns the Penal Code. As noted by our Spanish colleagues from maldita And Newtral, the current text bans the “sexual exploitation” of animals. A wording that could leave room for different legal interpretations, as Newtral notes. “From now on, instead of sexual exploitation, all sexual acts with animals will be punished”, summarized the Ministry of Social Rights, which carries this text, in Maldita.
The new text plans to punish people who cause an injury “that requires veterinary treatment” to restore the animal’s health. Those who commit such acts incur imprisonment, a fine and a ban on exercising a profession in contact with animals. Reinforced sanctions compared to to current text. The text under discussion also provides for aggravating circumstances, for example if the perpetrator is the owner of the animal.
The introduction of this precision on the “injury” worries animal defenders, as Newtral reminds us. How to sanction if it is not possible to note one? The new text responds to this, in article 340 bis, paragraph 4. If there is no injury, or if it does not require veterinary treatment, the penalty incurred is lighter: a fine, work of general interest and the prohibition to exercise a profession related to animals. The text therefore does not open the way to zoophilia, as several Spanish sites have worried about it.