The State Duma refused to lower the age of criminal punishment for knackers

As Kommersant reports with reference to the data of the lower house of the Russian parliament, deputies of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg took the initiative to change the age of criminal responsibility for animal husbandry.

This document was submitted to the State Duma back in 2019, but the idea was criticized by the government and Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court Vladimir Davydov.

The Cabinet of Ministers believes that the mechanical reduction of the age of criminal responsibility for animal husbandry does not have a sufficient motivation base. Moreover, it can provoke further criminalization of society.

As a general rule, criminal liability for the commission of most crimes in the Russian Federation begins at the age of 16. Exceptions are made for a number of grave and especially grave acts — such as murder, causing serious harm to human health, rape, terrorism, theft, robbery, robbery, car theft and a number of others.

Article 245 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on cruelty to animals is not included in this list. Responsibility for the acts specified in the article begins at the age of 16. The violator may face imprisonment for up to five years.

It should be noted that the punishment in the form of deprivation of liberty is imposed on minor convicts who have committed crimes under the age of sixteen for a period not exceeding 6 years. The same category of minors who have committed particularly serious crimes, as well as the rest of the convicted minors, are sentenced for a term not exceeding ten years.

Earlier it was reported that in the Sverdlovsk region, at the request of animal rights activists, the police took away a cat from a local knacker, over which the owner mocked and posted videos on the Network.