Executive Summary
The main animal welfare legislation in Italy, Legislative Decree No. 189/2004, prohibits the mistreatment of animals, as well as their use in illegal fighting or unauthorised competitions. Together with the Criminal Code, the Decree defines a range of possible punishments for breaches, which includes fines and imprisonment. The protection of animals kept for farming purposes is achieved through Legislative Decree No. 146/2001 which implements the European Union (EU) Council Directive 98/58/EC. The requirements for keeping animals in zoos, including ensuring the well-being of animals, providing sufficient space for and environmental enrichment, as well as avoiding stress, is achieved through Legislative Decree No. 73/2005 which implements Council Directive 1999/22/EC. The protection of animals used for scientific purposes is achieved through Legislative Decree No. 26/2014, which implements Directive 2010/63/EU. Additionally, Italy signed the European Convention on the Protection of Pets on 13 November 1987.
Despite incorporating the minimum European Union legislative requirements, there is room for improvement in many domains related to animal welfare. Notably, neither the Criminal Code nor Legislative Decree No. 189/2004 define ‘animal’, so it is not clear whether their provisions extend to all animals, including invertebrates. Animals are not recognised as sentient in legislation. In addition, the Criminal Code contains a cultural exemption, which allows for cruel events to continue on the ground of traditions, such as the Palio di Siena horse race. Italy furthermore allows the exploitation of animals for fur farming.
Since the API was first published in 2014, Italy has enacted Legislative Decree No. 26/2014 implementing Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes, which covers some invertebrates. On 8 November 2017, the Assembly of the Italian Parliament voted to phase out all animals in circuses and travelling shows. This remarkable decision is yet to be enforced, since the new legislation to phase out all animals in circuses has not yet been set out by a Ministerial Decree.
The Ministry of Health is responsible for animal welfare in Italy. Each province has an official appointed to the Office of Animal Rights (Ufficio Diritti Animali). This role is primarily concerned with reducing the numbers of abandoned companion animals and addressing stray animal issues. Animal welfare measures are implemented through the National Plan on Animal Welfare, which focuses on farm animal welfare. The Plan exists to comply with the provisions of national and EU regulations and stipulates the competent authorities at local, regional and national levels. However, this Plan does not appear to have been updated since 2014.
The Government of Italy is urged to formally recognise animals as sentient in legislation, given the scientific evidence which has proven that all vertebrates, cephalopods and decapod crustaceans are sentient. Furthermore, the Government of Italy is strongly encouraged to expand the scope of application of Legislative Decree No. 189/2004 to all animals. The Government of Italy is urged to ban the confinement of farm animals – for instance, in sow stalls and farrowing crates for pigs, and in cages for egg-laying hens – and the Government is urged to mandate the humane slaughter of all farm animals, with stunning prior to slaughter. The Government of Italy is furthermore urged to ban fur farming, which is inherently cruel, causing pain and distress to animals. The Government of Italy is furthermore urged to remove the cultural exemption from the Criminal Code, which allows cruel practices to continue such as the Palio. Further legal and policy recommendations are associated with each Animal Protection Index (API) indicator and contained in the relevant sections of this report.