• In his show "L'Heure des Pros", Monday, Pascal Praud was indignant at a new Spanish law that would have "decriminalized sexual acts with animals".
  • A change in the Penal Code is well planned. It provides for sanctions for such acts, more or less severe sanctions if an injury is found.

"This story seems crazy to me." Pascal Praud was indignant Monday at a new Spanish law that would have "decriminalized sexual acts with animals".

"I don't know if you see the case!" began by launching the host in his show L'Heure des Pros, after a debate on set on the origins of Covid-19. "There's one topic I've seen, it's not covered anywhere," he continued. According to the Spanish newspaper Mundotoro, [...] it is recorded, 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 Animal Welfare Act. »

The excerpt from the show is circulating on Facebook and Twitter, prompting outraged comments. Pascal Praud is not the only one to worry about this reading of this law: the Polish Minister of Justice is also moved, attacking the left-wing government in power in Spain.

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A new law on animal welfare was passed by the Spanish Congress on 9 February. 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 formulation 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," the Ministry of Social Rights, which carries this text, summarized in Maldita.

The new text plans to punish people who cause an injury "that requires veterinary treatment" for the restoration of the animal's health. Those who commit such acts are liable to imprisonment, a fine and a ban on exercising a profession in contact with animals. Sanctions strengthened compared to the 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 clarification on the "wound" worries animal advocates, as Newtral recalls. How to sanction if it is not possible to see 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 is lighter: a fine, community service and a ban on working in an animal-related occupation. The text does not therefore open the way to zoophilia, as several Spanish sites have expressed concern.

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