A new animal protection law (Ley de Protección a los Animales) took effect in Jalisco this week but the State Attorney General’s Office was far from ready to receive complaints and act on reports of abuse, local media sources have revealed.
Mechanisms for filing denuncias of animal cruelty have yet to be put in place at offices of the Fiscalia del Estado de Jalisco, police chiefs acknowledge. Animal rights groups say it will take at least a month for authorities to come up to speed and be able to attend to members of the public wishing to file complaints.
Tougher penalties for animal abuse mean that judges can now hand down prison terms of up to four years for anyone convicted for the deliberate death of an animal. (Bullfights and cockfights are excluded from the law.)
Fines imposed for cruelty to animals can run as high as 65,000 pesos and punishments can include many hours of community service.
State legislators quickly approved the new laws after a man in a northern Guadalajara neighborhood killed eight puppies by slamming them against a wall in the presence of his two young children. Municipal officials slapped him with a fine for his outrageous actions under a local ordinance but he has not yet paid and apparently fled the city.