Animal cruelty by children and juveniles: Case studies in veterinary forensic and legal practice

The criminal offense of animal killing and abuse was introduced into the Criminal Code of the Republic of Serbia in 2006, and in 2009, the Animal Welfare Law was adopted. It is alarming that the perpetrators of this criminal offense, who exhibit violent behaviour toward animals, are often very young...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Davitkov Dajana, Bajović Vanja, Aleksić-Radojković Jelena
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Belgrade 2025-01-01
Series:Veterinarski Glasnik
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0350-2457/2025/0350-24572500005D.pdf
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849725612089933824
author Davitkov Dajana
Bajović Vanja
Aleksić-Radojković Jelena
author_facet Davitkov Dajana
Bajović Vanja
Aleksić-Radojković Jelena
author_sort Davitkov Dajana
collection DOAJ
description The criminal offense of animal killing and abuse was introduced into the Criminal Code of the Republic of Serbia in 2006, and in 2009, the Animal Welfare Law was adopted. It is alarming that the perpetrators of this criminal offense, who exhibit violent behaviour toward animals, are often very young individuals, i.e., children under the age of 14 and so who cannot be held criminally responsible. Timely recognition and punishment of such behaviour is crucial, as it can help prevent future violence against humans and raise public awareness about the significance and role of animals in our society. According to Serbian law, children under the age of 14 are not criminally responsible, while for minors between the ages of 14 and 18, a special juvenile procedure is conducted, and specific sanctions are imposed. The authors’ initial hypothesis is that children and minors relatively often abuse animals, but the social and legal response to such behaviour is inadequate, and indeed, often entirely lacking. The aim of this paper is to highlight the frequency of animal cruelty among juvenile offenders and children and to emphasize the importance of a timely and appropriate response from all relevant sectors of society.
format Article
id doaj-art-394aa9fff3e04e689f2c5d6313de7461
institution DOAJ
issn 0350-2457
2406-0771
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Belgrade
record_format Article
series Veterinarski Glasnik
spelling doaj-art-394aa9fff3e04e689f2c5d6313de74612025-08-20T03:10:25ZengFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, BelgradeVeterinarski Glasnik0350-24572406-07712025-01-01791658210.2298/VETGL241105005D0350-24572500005DAnimal cruelty by children and juveniles: Case studies in veterinary forensic and legal practiceDavitkov Dajana0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1916-2037Bajović Vanja1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7781-725XAleksić-Radojković Jelena2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3500-5234University of Belgrade, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Forensic Veterinary Medicine, Belgrade, SerbiaUniversity of Belgrade, Faculty of Law, Department of Criminal Law, Belgrade, SerbiaUniversity of Belgrade, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Forensic Veterinary Medicine, Belgrade, SerbiaThe criminal offense of animal killing and abuse was introduced into the Criminal Code of the Republic of Serbia in 2006, and in 2009, the Animal Welfare Law was adopted. It is alarming that the perpetrators of this criminal offense, who exhibit violent behaviour toward animals, are often very young individuals, i.e., children under the age of 14 and so who cannot be held criminally responsible. Timely recognition and punishment of such behaviour is crucial, as it can help prevent future violence against humans and raise public awareness about the significance and role of animals in our society. According to Serbian law, children under the age of 14 are not criminally responsible, while for minors between the ages of 14 and 18, a special juvenile procedure is conducted, and specific sanctions are imposed. The authors’ initial hypothesis is that children and minors relatively often abuse animals, but the social and legal response to such behaviour is inadequate, and indeed, often entirely lacking. The aim of this paper is to highlight the frequency of animal cruelty among juvenile offenders and children and to emphasize the importance of a timely and appropriate response from all relevant sectors of society.https://doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0350-2457/2025/0350-24572500005D.pdfcriminal sanctionsjuveniles proceedingkilling and abusing animalsminors
spellingShingle Davitkov Dajana
Bajović Vanja
Aleksić-Radojković Jelena
Animal cruelty by children and juveniles: Case studies in veterinary forensic and legal practice
Veterinarski Glasnik
criminal sanctions
juveniles proceeding
killing and abusing animals
minors
title Animal cruelty by children and juveniles: Case studies in veterinary forensic and legal practice
title_full Animal cruelty by children and juveniles: Case studies in veterinary forensic and legal practice
title_fullStr Animal cruelty by children and juveniles: Case studies in veterinary forensic and legal practice
title_full_unstemmed Animal cruelty by children and juveniles: Case studies in veterinary forensic and legal practice
title_short Animal cruelty by children and juveniles: Case studies in veterinary forensic and legal practice
title_sort animal cruelty by children and juveniles case studies in veterinary forensic and legal practice
topic criminal sanctions
juveniles proceeding
killing and abusing animals
minors
url https://doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0350-2457/2025/0350-24572500005D.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT davitkovdajana animalcrueltybychildrenandjuvenilescasestudiesinveterinaryforensicandlegalpractice
AT bajovicvanja animalcrueltybychildrenandjuvenilescasestudiesinveterinaryforensicandlegalpractice
AT aleksicradojkovicjelena animalcrueltybychildrenandjuvenilescasestudiesinveterinaryforensicandlegalpractice