In France, in 2021, some 12,000 offenses against domestic animals, tamed or held in captivity, were recorded by the police and the gendarmerie, compared to 9,200 in 2016, according to the statistics service of the Ministry of the Interior.
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Bad treatments, severe abuse, abandonment… Attacks on domestic animals increased by 30% between 2016 and 2021, according to a study by the Ministry of the Interior published on Friday October 28. In France, in 2021, 12,000 offenses against domestic animals, tamed or held in captivity, were recorded by the police and the gendarmerie, compared to 9,200 in 2016, according to the statistics service of the Ministry of the Interior.
On the occasion of the presentation of these figures, the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin announced the creation of a new service of 15 police and gendarme investigators, specialized in the fight against animal abuse and attached to the Central Office fight against damage to the environment and public health (Oclaesp).
The first animal victims of these attacks are dogs (46%) and cats (24%). The perpetrators are mainly men (73%), mostly between 30 and 44 years old. Ill-treatment (35%) and serious abuse (34%) are the offenses most frequently observed, ahead of involuntary attacks on the life and integrity of the animal (14%).
Serious abuse experienced a particularly significant increase between 2019 and 2020 (+36%) which can be explained, in part, by the wave of mutilations of equines observed in France two years ago. While abandonments only concern 5% of breaches, their number has exploded over the past five years (+95%, 630 breaches in 2021).