The new law introduces prison sentences ranging from three months to one year for those found guilty of killing a domestic or a domesticated animal, and a series of monetary fines for animal cruelty.
Several recent cases of dog abuse, including that of Duke, who suffered major damage to his muzzle in an apparent machete attack, have renewed calls for harsher punishment for those who maim or kill animals.
Animal rights groups in July will begin collecting signatures across the country to approve a referendum in which citizens would vote on an animal welfare bill imposing stricter sanctions for animal cruelty.
A bill that seeks to establish prison time for animal abuse faces an uncertain future after several lawmakers filibustered voting on the law last week by filing over 70 motions against it.
Dozens of animal rights activists gathered during the opening of the Zapote festival, east of San José, to protest against one of the celebration’s main event: Tico-style bullfights.
National Police officers and Environment Ministry officials last Friday caught two poachers transporting 62 birds in the central Pacific district of Montes de Oro, in Costa Rica's Puntarenas province.
With just over two weeks left of the year, reports of animal abuse have already surpassed by 15 percent those recorded last year, the National Animal Health Service (SENASA) reported Friday.
A Cartago court sentenced a man for illegally breeding dogs in a puppy mill. Most of the dogs were kept inside stacked cages or hanging crates for years.
Experts believe Alik, the beaten ocelot, could be released into the wild again and live a normal life in about four months, pending evaluations and retraining.
A family found the ocelot, a threatened species, inside their henhouse and allegedly beat her with a metal pipe. The case highlights the continuing problem of animal abuse in Costa Rica, while a bill that would impose stricter penalties for abusers languishes in the legislature.
