VIDEO: Cruel Treatment of Animals Punishable by Law - Police Statement

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has issued a statement noting: "There are many facts and stories about the friendship between humans and animals, as well as films and videos based on these themes. At the same time, there are people who do not like animals. This is logical and normal, just as it is to love them. However, in parallel reality, there are people who, for known or unknown reasons, sometimes display cruel behavior towards animals.

According to Article 307, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, cruel treatment of an animal—such as causing its death through strangulation, hanging, dismemberment, poisoning, or injecting a substance that causes suffering leading to death, skinning while alive, amputating, organizing or conducting animal fights, or capturing stray animals in a manner that leads to mutilation or death, as well as using an animal in scientific, medical, or experimental purposes in violation of established regulations or other cruel treatment—shall be punishable by a fine of up to twenty times the minimum wage or community service ranging from eighty to one hundred fifty hours, or short-term imprisonment for a maximum of two months, or imprisonment for up to two years.

Part 2 of the same article states that if the act described in Part 1 is committed by a group of people with prior agreement, with particular cruelty, in the presence of a person under 12 years old, or for profit motives, it is punishable by a fine of ten to fifteen times the minimum wage, or community service ranging from one hundred to two hundred hours, or short-term imprisonment for one to two months, or imprisonment for one to three years.

From January 1, 2024, to the present date, the Operational Management Center of the Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has received 57 reports of cruelty towards animals, compared to 46 reports in the same period in 2023.

The community police are conducting awareness and educational work among the population to prevent this type of crime. According to Karen Khachatryan, the Deputy Head of the Community Police Department, "Cases of cruelty towards animals are under the police’s attention. Community police officers have serviced areas where direct communication between the public and police inspectors is ongoing. If they learn that cruelty is taking place against animals, they respond immediately, and the offense is legally assessed within the law."

Thus, a person who exhibits cruelty towards animals is accountable not only to their conscience but also to the law. Dear citizens, remember that animals are a crucial part of our ecosystem. The Ministry of Internal Affairs urges anyone who witnesses cruelty towards an animal to contact the police."