Italian animal law

The Constitutional Law of 11 February 2022, no. 1 amended articles 9 and 41 of the Italian Constitution. Article 9, among the fundamental principles, now says that the Republic protects the environment, biodiversity and ecosystems, also in the interest of future generations, and that “State law governs the ways and forms of animal protection”. It was the first time the word “animals” appeared in the Constitution. The reform has been in force since March 2022.

The clause does not make animals holders of rights in the full sense, and it does not build a protection system by itself: it gives the legislature a mandate. It does give animal protection an express constitutional basis, no longer only an indirect one through the environment or public health, and courts and public authorities must now read existing law in that light. The reform did not change the division of powers between the State and the regions (art. 117), so regions keep room to act in their own fields, such as veterinary services and the management of fauna.

Article 41 was amended too: private economic activity may not be carried out in a way that harms health or the environment, and the law may direct it towards environmental ends.

At EU level, article 13 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union recognises animals as sentient beings and requires the Union and the Member States to pay full regard to animal welfare in agriculture, fisheries, transport, the internal market, research and space policy.

The core of criminal protection is Title IX-bis of Book II of the Penal Code (articles 544-bis to 544-septies), introduced by Law 189/2004. Law of 6 June 2025, no. 82, in force since 1 July 2025, is the widest reform since then. It renamed the Title from “Crimes against the sentiment for animals” to “Crimes against animals”: the animal itself, not human feelings towards it, is now the interest the law protects.

The main offences and penalties

• Killing an animal (art. 544-bis): imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years and a fine from €5,000 to €30,000; with cruelty or prolonged suffering, imprisonment from 1 to 4 years and a fine from €10,000 to €60,000.
• Mistreating an animal (art. 544-ter): imprisonment from 6 months to 2 years and a fine from €5,000 to €30,000. Prison and fine now apply together, no longer as alternatives.
• Prohibited shows and events (art. 544-quater) and animal fights (art. 544-quinquies): penalties were raised for organisers and participants; whoever organises fights between animals faces 2 to 4 years.
• Abandonment (art. 727): detention of up to 1 year or a fine from €5,000 to €10,000 for abandoning domestic animals or animals used to captivity. The same penalty applies to keeping animals in conditions incompatible with their nature that cause serious suffering.
• Killing or harming someone else’s animals (art. 638): imprisonment from 1 to 4 years for killing three or more head without necessity.

Aggravating circumstances

The new art. 544-septies increases the penalty by up to one third when the offence is committed in the presence of minors, involves more than one animal, or when images or videos of it are spread through IT or online tools.

Seizure, confiscation and custody

Art. 544-sexies governs confiscation and accessory penalties. Since 2025, until the judgment is final, the suspect, the accused or the owner may not kill the animals or sell them to others, even when they are not under seizure. A new art. 260-bis of the Code of Criminal Procedure allows animals seized in criminal proceedings to be placed in definitive custody, with a deposit required from those who take them in. Preventive measures under Legislative Decree 159/2011 now also apply to people habitually involved in animal fights, prohibited events and the crimes of Law 201/2010.

Chains

Law 82/2025 also introduced a national ban on keeping pets on a chain, punished with an administrative fine from €500 to €5,000. Several regions had already banned it (see below).

What the Penal Code does not cover

Under art. 19-ter of the coordinating provisions of the Penal Code, which the reform left in place, Title IX-bis does not apply to hunting, fishing, farming, transport, slaughter, experimentation and circuses when they are carried out according to the laws governing those sectors. Those activities have their own rules, described in the sections below, and breaking them can bring the Penal Code back into play.

Farm animal welfare is almost entirely EU law, implemented in Italy by legislative decrees that add the penalties. The general rules are in Directive 98/58/EC, implemented by Legislative Decree 146/2001: adequate housing, food, veterinary care, freedom of movement and regular inspections for all farmed animals. Species rules add specific standards:

• Laying hens: unenriched (“battery”) cages banned since 1 January 2012 (Directive 1999/74/EC, Legislative Decree 267/2003).
• Broiler chickens: maximum stocking density of 33 kg/m², which can rise to 39 and, under further conditions, 42 kg/m² (Directive 2007/43/EC, Legislative Decree 181/2010).
• Pigs: sows and gilts must be kept in groups from four weeks after service to one week before farrowing, for all farms since 1 January 2013 (Directive 2008/120/EC, Legislative Decree 122/2011).
• Calves: individual pens banned for calves over eight weeks old, except for certified health isolation (Directive 2008/119/EC, Legislative Decree 126/2011).

Transport is governed by Regulation (EC) 1/2005 (journey times, space allowances, vehicles, rest and watering), with Italian penalties in Legislative Decree 151/2007. A new regulation proposed by the Commission in December 2023 would replace it, but has not yet been adopted. Slaughter follows Regulation (EC) 1099/2009, which requires animals to be stunned before slaughter, with derogations for religious slaughter; penalties are in Legislative Decree 131/2013.

Italy has also banned fur farming: since 1 January 2022 it is forbidden to breed, capture or kill mink, foxes, raccoon dogs and chinchillas for fur, and existing farms had to close by 30 June 2022.

Law 157/1992 declares wild fauna inalienable property of the State, sets hunting seasons and methods, creates protected areas and lays down penalties. It is Italy’s main implementation of the EU Birds Directive. The Habitats Directive is implemented by Presidential Decree 357/1997, which strictly protects species of Community interest, forbidding their capture, killing, disturbance, possession and sale.

Art. 727-bis of the Penal Code, introduced by Legislative Decree 121/2011, punishes killing, capturing or keeping protected wild species. International trade in endangered species follows the CITES Convention, applied in the EU by Regulation (EC) 338/97 and backed in Italy by criminal and administrative penalties under Law 150/1992. The keeping and trade of exotic and wild animals is also regulated by Legislative Decree 135/2022.