Pets & Countries' Animal Protection Laws | World Dog Alliance

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Mascotas y leyes de protección animal de cada país

Austria [Dog / Cat ownership rate: 24 per 100]

Dog Meat Ban: Covered under slaughter laws
Animal Welfare Act 2004, Article 5 prohibits inflicting unjustified pain, suffering, injury, or fear on animals, with exemptions for hunting and fishing
Cruelty to animals, punishable by up to 1 year imprisonment or a fine

Germany [Dog / Cat ownership: 23 per 100]

Dog Meat Ban: Since 1986
German Animal Welfare Act, Article 17 prohibits causing substantial pain, suffering, or injury to animals without reasonable cause
Violations are punishable by up to 3 years imprisonment or a fine

Taiwan [Dog / Cat ownership rate: 21 per 100]

Dog Meat Ban: Since 2017
Animal Protection Act 1998 (amended 2021), Article 10 prohibits maltreatment, abuse, or killing of animals without justification
Violations (e.g., intentional cruelty or killing) carry up to 2 years imprisonment and/or a fine of up to NT$2 million (approx. $62,000 USD)

United Kingdom [Dog / Cat ownership rate: 26 per 100]

Dog Meat Ban: NO
Animal Welfare Act 2006 (England and Wales), Section 4 prohibits causing unnecessary suffering to animals through acts or omissions
Violations are punishable by up to 7 years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine for serious cruelty, with lesser penalties (up to 51 weeks jail or £20,000 fine) for negligence

Netherlands [Dog / Cat ownership rate: 22 per 100]

Dog Meat Ban: NO
Animal Act 2011, Article 2.1 prohibits acts causing unnecessary suffering or neglect of animals, including farm animals
Violations are covered under the Dutch Penal Code, Article 254, with penalties up to 3 years imprisonment or a fine

France [Dog / Cat ownership rate: 25 per 100]

Dog Meat Ban: NO
French Penal Code, Article 521-1 prohibits acts of cruelty to domestic or captive animals, including killing without necessity
Violations carry up to 2 years imprisonment and a €30,000 fine

Noruega [Tasa de tenencia de perros/gatos: 20 por cada 100 habitantes]

Prohibición de carne de perro: NO
La Ley noruega de bienestar animal de 2009, en su artículo 14, prohíbe causar sufrimiento innecesario o descuidar las necesidades de los animales.
Las infracciones son punibles según el artículo 14, con hasta 1 año de prisión, o 3 años en caso de crueldad agravada.

Thailand [Dog / Cat ownership rate: 12 per 100]

Dog Meat Ban: NO
Prevention of Animal Cruelty and Provision of Animal Welfare Act B.E. 2557 (2014) prohibits acts of cruelty or neglect causing suffering
Violations carry up to 2 years imprisonment and/or a fine of up to THB 40,000 (approx. $1,100 USD). Enforcement is reportedly weak

México [Tasa de tenencia de perros/gatos: 8 por cada 100]

Prohibición de carne de perro: NO
No existe una ley contra la crueldad animal a nivel federal, pero el Código Penal Federal contiene algunas disposiciones relativas a los animales, donde los animales salvajes tienen más protección que los animales domésticos.

Turkey [Dog / Cat ownership rate: 9 per 100]

Dog Meat Ban: NO
Animal Protection Law No. 5199 (2004, amended 2021), Article 14 prohibits intentional cruelty, neglect, or unjustified killing
Violations are treated as administrative offenses, with fines up to TRY 3,000 (approx. $90 USD). Criminal penalties (up to 1 year jail) apply only for severe cases

China [Dog / Cat ownership rate: 7 per 100]

Dog Meat Ban: Shenzhen and Zhuhai (2020)
Animal Protection Law is being proposed, not yet enacted.
Currently lacks comprehensive animal protection laws, though there are ongoing efforts to introduce legislation

Indonesia [Dog / Cat ownership rate: 3 per 100]

Dog Meat Ban: 21 regions including Jakarta
No comprehensive cruelty law exists, and enforcement is minimal

Rusia [ Tasa de tenencia de perros/gatos : 5 por cada 100]

Dog Meat Ban: NO
Russian Penal Code, Article 245 prohibits cruelty causing injury or death to animals with malicious, sadistic, or mercenary motives
up to 3 years imprisonment or fines of RUB 80,000–300,000 (approx. $800–$3,000 USD). Enforcement is weak

India [ Tasa de tenencia de perros/gatos : 4 por cada 100]

Dog Meat Ban: NO
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960, Section 11 prohibits causing unnecessary pain or suffering to animals
violations carry fines up to INR 50 (approx. $0.60 USD) for first offenses, or up to 3 months imprisonment and/or INR 100 for repeat offenses. Penalties are widely criticized as inadequate.

Vietnam [ Tasa de tenencia de perros/gatos : 6 por cada 100]

Dog Meat Ban: NO (~5M dogs consumed/year)
No comprehensive animal welfare law exists, with Law on Animal Husbandry addressing treatment of farm animals and prohibiting acts of cruelty.

United States [Dog / Cat ownership rate: 25 per 100]

Dog Meat Ban: Since 2018
Federal animal welfare act provides minimum standards of care and treatment for animals. No federal cruelty statute exists, with cruelty primarily addressed by state laws
Each of the 50 states has a felony animal cruelty law to determine what constitutes cruelty and the penalties for committing cruelty, but levels vary

Canada [Dog / Cat ownership rate: 23 per 100]

Dog Meat Ban: NO
Criminal Code of Canada, Section 445.1 prohibits willfully causing unnecessary pain, suffering, or injury to animals
Violations carry up to 5 years imprisonment (indictable offense) or 6 months jail and/or $10,000 fine

Italy [Dog / Cat ownership rate: 18 per 100]

Dog Meat Ban: NO
Italian Penal Code, Article 544-bis prohibits unjustified killing or cruelty to animals
Violations carry 1–2 years imprisonment

South Korea [Dog / Cat ownership rate: 15 per 100]

Prohibición del consumo de carne de perro: A partir de 2027
Ley de Protección Animal de 1991 (modificada en 2023), artículo 8 prohíbe matar o herir animales sin justificación.
Las infracciones del artículo 8 conllevan penas de hasta 3 años de prisión o una multa de hasta 30 millones de wones surcoreanos (aproximadamente 22.000 dólares estadounidenses).

Japan [Dog / Cat ownership rate: 16 per 100]

Prohibición de carne de perro: NO
La Ley de Bienestar y Gestión de los Animales de 1973 (modificada en 2019), en su artículo 44, prohíbe la crueldad o la matanza injustificada de animales protegidos.
Las infracciones conllevan penas de hasta 1 año de prisión o una multa de hasta 1 millón de yenes (aproximadamente 6700 dólares estadounidenses).

Singapur [ Tasa de tenencia de perros/gatos : 14 por cada 100 habitantes]

Dog Meat Ban: NO
Animals and Birds Act (2014) prohibits acts of cruelty to animals, including torture, abuse, and neglect. It also regulates animal ownership and trade
Violators can face fines and imprisonment for up to 18 months

Australia [ Tasa de tenencia de perros/gatos : 23 por cada 100]

Dog Meat Ban: NO
There is little national animal welfare legislation in Australia; most animal welfare regulations are at the state and territory level
In NSW, serious animal cruelty is an offence under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (NSW: Section 530) which carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison.

Hong Kong [Dog / Cat ownership rate: 13 per 100]

Dog Meat Ban: Since 1950
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance, Cap. 169, prohibits abuse, neglect, inappropriate transport and fighting of any animal
Maximum fine is HK$200,000 and carries a maximum imprisonment of three years

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