Page 105 - Supplemento 2-2016 (ENG)

Tackling Environmental Crime throUgh standardized Methodologies

Roberto Bennati
Vice President, LAV

Judicial protection of animals has greatly evolved through the years.
The last 10 years have been characterised by a new regulatory framework
(Law 189/2004) and by a growing awareness in public opinion of a different
relationship with animals.
The Judicial framework for the protection of animals is outlined in natio-
nal and international regulations, originating from the UE as well as from
International treaties such as the CITES (Convention on International Trade of
Endangered Species).
The supervision of this complex and multifaceted regulatory framework
regarding animals has been a priority for the actions and responsibilities of the
State Forestry Department, with interventions that range from dealing with the
mistreatment of animals to combating puppy trade from Eastern Europe, to
the international trafficking of species.
Therefore, the integration of the State Forestry Department with the
Carabinieri Corps is a very important step in the fight for the repression of cri-
mes against animals.
At national level the repression of ill-treatment crimes and the supervi-
sion of the regulations for the protection of animals, as outlined by European
Community laws, are the two major areas in which the Carabinieri will be able
to significantly increase their intervention, developing and expanding existing
powers and making their intervention systemic in areas ranging from the pro-
tection of pets and the supervision of breeding farms to the basic protection
of native wild fauna, without neglecting the phenomenon of organised crime
making money out of activities like clandestine dog fighting.
In the area of international crime and large-scale organised crime, the
EU Sate Members will have the important task of cracking down on the inter-
national trafficking of species, in the context of sustainability objectives, by
2020. Therefore the supervision and repression by the Carabinieri constitutes a
very important objective both in terms of intervention priorities and of poli-
cies concerning crime.

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