Man receives highest sentence in Poland for animal cruelty

The court also found Łukasz N. (name withheld under Poland’s privacy laws) guilty of beating his cohabiting pregnant girlfriend and property damage and imposed an aggregate sentence of five and a half years behind bars.

Łukasz N. plunged a knife in his dog several times, which led to its death several hours later, the Krakowska daily reported.

Katarzyna Kuczyńska, member of the national council at the National Animal Protection Society (OTOZ), said: “It is the highest verdict given for animal cruelty in Polish history.”

In January, the Polish parliament adopted new regulations increasing the maximum jail term for those abusing and killing animals from two to three years, and raising the maximum prison sentence for cruelty to five years. The legislation also introduced a life ban on keeping animals when offenders are convicted of cruelty.

(aba)

Source: Gazeta Krakowska