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Description
We will be monitoring actions of one-third of the District Courts, Prosecutor Offices and Regional Police Headquarters in all 16 voivodeships, working on cases pertaining to animal cruelty. This project is a continuation of a monitoring effort first initiated by our organization and our partner, EKOSTRAŻ Association, in 2014-2015. According to the studies from the Centre for Public Opinion Research in 2018, 79% of Poles believes that animals deserve an effective legal protections, while 84% demands harsher penalties for people committing crimes of animal cruelty. However, according to our analysis, many crimes against animals are not prosecuted and punished, while data relating to the phenomena remains insufficient. We will train at least 16 individuals and assist them in monitoring the court cases. Additional 32 individuals will receive training in online monitoring and will be tasked with following media reports about animal cruelty cases and court verdicts in those cases. Participants will be recruited from among the animal rights organizations, and humanities and law students. We will also conduct a survey among the animal rights organizations and law enforcement agencies and courts on their experiences with these types of cases. We will produce a publicly available report summarizing our project that will contain recommendations for changes to the current law. We will also have a press conference paired with a specialist panel attended by NGOs’ representatives, politicians working in animal rights commission, members from the National Prosecutor’s Office and the Ministry of Justice. Animal Protection Association EKOSTRAŻ has been our partner since 2013. The association brings knowledge and experience in the field of animal rights law, as well as personnel support: volunteers and lawyers working for the organization.
Summary of project results
We have monitored the activities of 351 institutions, such as district courts, prosecutors'' offices, and regional police headquarters in all 16 voivodeships, regarding cases related to the prosecution and punishment of crimes against animals. According to a survey by the Public Opinion Research Center from 2018, 79% of Poles believe that animals deserve effective legal protection, and 84% want stricter penalties for perpetrators of animal abuse. However, according to our analysis, many crimes against animals go unpunished, and data on compliance with animal protection laws and law enforcement activities are insufficient.In response to this problem, we trained 79 individuals in monitoring court proceedings and online media reports related to the prosecution of animal crimes and associated verdicts. We recruited participants from pro-animal non-governmental organizations as well as social and legal science students. We conducted surveys among representatives of pro-animal organizations, law enforcement, and the judiciary regarding their experiences with animal rights cases. Ultimately, 51 people signed a voluntary agreement with us to monitor court proceedings across Poland. Along with our partner, thanks to the access to public information procedure, we obtained data on the enforcement of provisions of the Animal Protection Act from 351 institutions, including prosecutors'' offices, district courts, and regional police headquarters. We analyzed, among other things, 1903 verdicts from district courts. Finally, we prepared a public project report with recommendations for changes to the law. We also organized a press conference in Warsaw with a debate involving representatives from non-governmental organizations, politics, and law. Our project partner was the Animal Protection Association EKOSTRAŻ. They contributed knowledge and experience regarding the current animal protection law and its enforcement, as well as provided personnel support. They also assisted in sending out reports.Thanks to the activities carried out within the project, we were able to obtain up-to-date data on the enforcement of animal protection laws and changes to its provisions by courts and law enforcement after 2016. We also verified the accuracy of the data provided by the Ministry of Justice. Additionally, from the evaluation surveys, we learned that 79 individuals increased their knowledge regarding the functioning of animal legal protection.
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