| Chile |
Angie Vega |
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Chile
Angie Vega (2022)
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Topical Introduction |
| Chile - Animal Welfare- Animal Protection Act (in Spanish) |
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Ley Nº 20.380 - Ley sobre protección de animales. |
Diario Oficial Nº 39.477, 3 de octubre de 2009, págs. 3-5 |
Ley 20.380 is the is the Chilean Animal Protection Statute. It recognizes animals as living beings and establishes the norms for the “recognition, protection and respect of animals” in order to avoid unnecessary pain and suffering. This law punishes animal cruelty with imprisonment of up to 3 years. Labs, zoos, circuses, and other establishments that keep animals for exhibition and entertainment are allowed, so long as they have the adequate facilities according to the species and adequate safety for people. Animal experimentation in schools is allowed under this law. Rodeo, rein-back and equestrian sports are excepted from provisions of this law.
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Statute |
| Chile - Farming - Ley 21664, 2024 |
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Ley 21664, 2024 |
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This law amends the Chilean Health Code to define the term meat and prohibits using that designation for products that are not of animal origin. |
Statute |
| CL - Cruelty - Ley 20.380 |
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Ley 20.380 |
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The animal protection statute applies to all animals and strengthens the penalties established in the criminal code for animal cruelty. Under this statute, animals are sentient living beings, that are part of nature. They must be treated respectfully and unnecessary pain must be avoided. Every person that owns an animal must provide food and shelter that is adequate to their minimum needs, and must not restrict their freedom of movement in an unnecessary manner. This is true especially if it causes suffering or if it alters the normal development of the animal. Some important aspects of this law include the establishment of the duty to teach children in schools to protect and respect animals. It prohibits animal experimentation in schools and regulates the production of livestock (confinement, breeding, transport, and slaughter). The livestock service (SAG) oversees the compliance of this law during the production of livestock, and the handling of animals by zoos, circuses, and veterinary centers. However, violations of the dispositions of this law carry out monetary fines only. |
Statute |
| CL - Marine mammals - Ley 20293 |
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Ley 20293 |
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The cetacean law prohibits the killing, hunting, capturing, harassing, keeping, possessing, transporting, disembarking, preparing, or carrying out any transformation process, as well as the commercialization or storage of any species of cetacean that inhabits or crosses the maritime areas of national sovereignty and jurisdiction in Chile. |
Statute |
| CL - Slaughter - Ley 21.3016 |
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Ley 21.3016 |
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This law modifies Law No. 19.162, increasing sanctions for violations of animal health regulations in slaughterhouses, and information falsification in the livestock and meat traceability system. This law increases monetary fees from 100 monthly tax units (UTM) to 500 UTM. In addition it adds a paragraph to artiicle 8 of Law No. 19.162 stating the following: "The person who, in an export process, incurs violations of this law related to animal health or traceability will be sanctioned with a fine of 100 to 1,000 monthly tax units and with the confiscation of the products. Additionally, they will be sanctioned with the prohibition of export between three to five years. In case of recidivism within the five years following the end of the prohibition, the conduct will be sanctioned with the perpetual prohibition to export. In the case of a legal person, the same sanction will fall on the natural person or persons controlling the said company and the other companies they control." |
Statute |
| CL - Transport, animals - Decreto 30 |
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Decreto 30 |
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This "Decreto" or executive order contains welfare standards for animals during transport. It is an indirect result of the agreement DS N° 28/2003 between Chile and the European Union together with decretos 28, and 29, 2013. Under this decreto, cattle cannot be transported in conditions that could cause unnecessary pain and suffering. However, there are no limitations regarding the number of animals that can be loaded, and animals can be transported without food, water, and rest for up to 24 hours. if it is impossible to unload the animals, the carrier must ensure that animals are provided food and water.
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Statute |
| Corte Suprema Rol N°50.969-22 |
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Corte Suprema Rol N°50.969-22 |
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In July 2022, the Interspecies Justice Foundation filed the first writ of habeas corpus for a non-human animal in Chile. The petition urged the court to recognize Sandai, a 28-year-old orangutan to be recognized as a non-human person and subject of rights, and therefore, to end his captivity in Buin Zoo in Chile. The plaintiff argued that Sandai lived in conditions unfit for his species. One of the expert testimonies submitted to the court stated that “Sandai’s body language reflects a depressed, defeated, and vulnerable emotional and psychological state, which is normal if we consider the conditions in which Sandai is being kept.”
The Chilean Supreme Court upheld the decision of the lower court denying the admissibility of the habeas corpus filed on behalf of Sandai. In dismissing the appeal, the court stated that the constitution in its article 19 refers to persons and that in accordance with the Royal Spanish Academy, persons are individuals of the human species. Therefore, Sandai does not meet the legal requirements to be protected under this legal mechanism. Thus, upholding the decision of the Court of Appeals of San Miguel on July 27.
Furthermore, with the purpose of protecting the well-being of Sandai, the Supreme Court ordered the Livestock Service (SAG) to adopt all appropriate measures to guarantee that the Buin Zoo complies with the law, specifically attending to Sandai’s case, stating: “that the deprivation of his liberty does not cause him suffering and any other alteration of its normal development, verifying that they have the appropriate facilities for his species, avoiding all mistreatment and deterioration of his health”.
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Case |
| Criminal Code, Article 291 BIS and 291 TER |
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1984 |
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Article 291 BIS establishes the penalties for cruelty or mistreatment against animals. Article 291 TER defines animal cruelty and mistreatment. |
Statute |
| D. Sociedad Protectora de Cocheros de Viña del Mar y otros con Ilustre Municipalidad de Viña del Mar |
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491-2015 |
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Valparaíso, dos de abril de dos mil quince. VISTO: A fojas 10, comparece don M.I.S.Á., abogado, domiciliado en Plaza de Justicia Nº 45, Oficina 412, comuna de Valparaíso, en representación de Sociedad Protectora de Cocheros de Viña del Mar y de Dueños de Coches Victoria, deduciendo acción de protección en contra de la Ilustre Municipalidad de Viña del Mar, representada por su Alcaldesa, doña V.R.B., con domicilio en calle A.N. 615, comuna de Viña del Mar, en razón del acto arbitrario e ilegal consistente en la dictación del Decreto Alcaldicio Nº 11.349, de fecha 12 de noviembre de 2014, que aprueba la Ordenanza para el Transporte de Pasajeros en Coches Victoria en la comuna de Viña del Mar. |
Case |
