Report animal cruelty in Italy
Did you see an animal mistreated, abandoned or in danger while in Italy? Tell the legal team of Animal Law Italia, in English.
If an animal is in danger right now, call 112. It is the European emergency number, free from any phone, with English-speaking operators. The police can go there; our legal team can’t. Then, if you like, send the report: it helps us follow the case.
We often receive emails from visitors who saw an animal suffering during their stay in Italy. A report made through our form reaches the legal team with everything they need to act: where, when, which animals, what you saw, photos. You can write in English, and we answer in English.
Make a report
The form is on Pet Law, Animal Law Italia’s platform, and the legal team answers you there. Have your photos at hand, and the place and dates as precisely as you can. Read the questions below if you are unsure.
Questions and answers
Anyone, tourists included.
Call 112, the European emergency number: it is free from any phone, mobile or landline, and the operators speak English. The police can go there; our legal team can’t. For wildlife, poaching or illegal hunting you can also call 1515, the Carabinieri’s environmental line. Then, if you like, send the report: it helps us follow the case.
Yes. The report form is in English and the legal team answers you in English. The rest of Pet Law, the site where you find the answer, is in Italian: your browser can translate it.
Yes, as long as it happened in Italy. Give us the place as precisely as you can (town, street, beach, hotel, restaurant, a landmark) and the dates you saw it. Photos and videos are a great help: keep the originals, they carry the date and time.
Violence and cruelty, abandonment, poisoning, animals kept on chains, in cages or shut in cars, animals with no food, water or care, illegal sale of puppies, animal fights, begging with animals, animals in shows, circuses and events, illegal hunting and trapping, and cruelty videos or posts seen online. You don’t need to know whether it is a crime: the legal team assesses it.
No. It goes to the legal team of Animal Law Italia, who assess it. When there are grounds, they pass the case to the competent authorities or file a complaint themselves; if your own complaint is needed, they help you prepare it. They can’t promise to act in every case, but they always tell you why.
We email you a code to confirm your address, then the report reaches the legal team. They answer you in your Pet Law account and let you know by email; you can add photos or news in the same conversation and follow where it stands: new, being checked, passed to the authorities, complaint filed, closed.
We never give your details to the person you report. If the case reaches the authorities they might want to hear you as a witness: the form asks whether we can give them your name, whether we should ask you first, or not at all. For content seen online no witness is needed.
Don’t share or comment on it: save the link and a screenshot, then pick «Online» at the first step of the form. It goes to Pescato in Rete, our project that takes online animal abusers to court. We can only file complaints in Italy for things that happened in Italy: if you can tell where it was filmed, let us know.
Support us
Help us follow every report
Reports are open to everyone. Each one is read by a member of the legal team, and every complaint has a cost. A donation lets us follow more of them.