Offences against animals in Italy: what changed in 2025
A statute in force since July 2025 substantially strengthened Italian law on animals. Penalties were raised, imprisonment and fine became cumulative rather than alternative, aggravating circumstances were extended, and offences against animals were added to the list that makes a company liable in its own right.
The offences
| Conduct | Position | Provision |
|---|---|---|
| Killing an animal | Criminal offence, penalties raised in 2025 | Art. 544-bis Criminal Code |
| Mistreatment | Imprisonment and fine, cumulative since 2025 | Art. 544-ter |
| Spectacles or events causing suffering | Criminal offence | Art. 544-quater |
| Unauthorised fighting | Criminal offence, aggravated forms | Art. 544-quinquies |
| Aggravating circumstances | Extended in 2025 | Art. 544-septies |
| Abandonment | Separate offence, with driving consequences | Art. 727 |
| Liability of the entity | Where a business is involved | Legislative Decree 231/2001 |
The change that matters most is the least visible. Making imprisonment and fine cumulative rather than alternative removes the possibility of resolving these cases by payment, and it moves them out of the category where they were routinely settled quietly.
Who this reaches
Not only owners. Breeders, kennels, transporters, farms, veterinary practices and anyone running an activity involving animals now face the possibility of proceedings against the business itself, judged on its organisation rather than on the conduct of an individual.
For a company that is a different kind of exposure, and it is the reason to look at the organisational model rather than only at the incident. The framework is in corporate criminal liability in Italy.
What counts as mistreatment
The offence covers causing injury out of cruelty or without necessity, and subjecting an animal to unbearable strain or to conduct or conditions incompatible with its nature. The second limb is the one that reaches ordinary situations: an animal kept permanently chained, in unsuitable space, without shelter or care.
Two words limit it. Necessity excludes conduct required by veterinary or lawful activity, and unbearable requires more than discomfort. Where the case rests on conditions rather than on an act, veterinary evidence about the actual state of the animal is what decides it.
Abandonment
Abandoning a domestic animal or one that has become accustomed to captivity is a separate minor offence, and it carries a consequence that people do not expect: where the abandonment occurred on a road or created a hazard, driving consequences can follow alongside the criminal penalty.
It is also the offence most likely to be reported by a third party, and the reports arrive with photographs and dates, which makes the account given at the outset difficult to change later.
Situations that arise for visitors and residents
- Transporting animals in conditions that breach the rules, particularly across a border.
- Leaving a dog in a vehicle in summer, which is regularly reported and prosecuted.
- Taking on an animal while resident and abandoning it on departure.
- Hunting and fishing outside the permitted conditions, which engage their own separate rules.
- Wildlife products bought as souvenirs, dealt with in customs at Italian borders.
Frequently asked questions
What changed in 2025?
Penalties were raised, imprisonment and fine became cumulative rather than alternative, aggravating circumstances were extended, and companies can now be liable in their own right.
Is keeping a dog chained mistreatment?
It can be. The offence covers conditions incompatible with the animal's nature, and cases resting on conditions are decided by veterinary evidence about its actual state.
Is abandonment a crime?
Yes, it is a separate minor offence, and where it occurred on a road or created a hazard, driving consequences can follow as well.
Can my business be prosecuted?
Yes. Offences against animals were added to the list triggering liability of the entity, judged on its organisation rather than on individual conduct.
If a report has been made
Veterinary evidence about the animal's actual condition is what these cases turn on, and it is best obtained early. First contact is free and covered by professional privilege.