Law on animal protection.

This Law establishes the necessary responsibilities and obligations of natural and legal persons for the protection of animals during their physical use, which includes the protection of animal life, health and welfare.
This text sets out the specific manner of treatment of animals, the conditions necessary for the protection of animals in animal holdings, during breeding related activities such as operations on animals, animal killing , transportation, use of animals for scientific purposes, keeping of live animals at zoos, circuses and other shows, pet sale related issues, and measure for the treatment of abandoned and lost animals, including inspection and misdemeanor provisions. This Law applies to all vertebrate animals, but also to the squid from the class Cephalopoda if used for scientific purposes. These rules are not meant for hunting, game management and fisheries. This Law contains provisions which are in accordance with several acts of the European Union, as follows: Council Directive 83/129/EEC of 28 March 1983 concerning the importation into Member States of skins of certain seal pups and products derived therefrom; Council Directive 98/58/EC of 20 July 1998 concerning the protection of animals kept for farming purposes; Council Directive 1999/22/EC of 29 March 1999 relating to the keeping of wild animals in zoos; Council Directive 1999/74/EC of 19 July 1999 laying down minimum standards for the protection of laying hens; Commission Directive 2002/4/EC of 30 January 2002 on the registration of establishments keeping laying hens, covered by Council Directive 1999/74/EC; Council Directive 2007/43/EC of 28 June 2007 laying down minimum rules for the protection of chickens kept for meat production; Council Directive 2008/119/EC of 18 December 2008 laying down minimum standards for the protection of calves; Council Directive 2008/120/EC of 18 December 2008 laying down minimum standards for the protection of pigs; and Directive 2010/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2010 on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes.
The text is divided into thirteen main Chapters and 98 articles. The list of Chapters is here as follows: Basic provisions (I); Basic provisions for the protection of animals (II); Protection of animals used for scientific purposes (III); Keeping of breeding animals used for production purposes (IV); Protection of wild animals; (V); Protection of pets (VI); Animal protection in zoos (VII Protection of animals used in circus performance, for film and television recordings, exhibitions, festivals, competitions, performances and for other activities with the purpose of presentation of animals (VIII); Protection of abandoned and lost animals (IX); Animal protection in pet shops (X); Supervision (XI); Penalty provisions (XII); and Transitional and final provisions (XIII). Principles of animal keeping, including good practice issues are in article 39.
Article 5 sets out that it is prohibited to kill animals, subject them to pain, suffering and injury, and intentionally expose them to fear or disease, contrary to the provisions of this Law. It is also prohibited to: raise animals in a way that causes them pain, suffering and fear and to intentionally injure them, contrary to the rules of the profession and the latest scientific developments, and import and trade of such animals is animals raised in the way is prohibited; increase aggressiveness of animals through selection or other methods; incite animals against another animals or humans or train them to be aggressive, except in the training of service dogs and dogs for sports and hunting dogs in accordance with the cynological standards and under the supervision of qualified persons; train animals to fight, organize animal fights, with the exception of traditional bull fighting or participate in such fights with the compulsory consent and presence of the veterinary inspector, attend or advertise them and organize and participate in betting in relation to such fights; give animals as prizes in games of chance; use technical devices, aids and tools aimed at controlling animals behavior by punishment, including prong collars or training devices involving the use of electric current or chemical substances, whose use causes pain; to organize dog races; give stimulants or other unauthorized substances to animals in order to improve their performance in sports competitions and shows; give unauthorized stimulants and substances to animals in order to enhance their growth and weight gain and to increase their physical performance; use animals in circuses and other shows, film and television productions, advertisements, exhibitions or competitions or performances in which animals are forced to behave in a manner that causes pain, suffering, injury or death; force animals into a actions that causes them pain, suffering, injury or death; expose animals to adverse temperatures and weather conditions, contrary to the accepted animal hygiene standards for individual animal species, or to lack of oxygen, thus causing them pain, suffering, injury or fear or death; give animals food or substances the ingestion of which causes pain, suffering, injury, fear or death; force animals to take particular food or substances, unless instructed by a veterinarian for animal health reasons, or for the purpose of an experiment, or unless it is scientifically justified; neglect an animal in terms of its health, housing, nutrition, and care; cut off body parts of live animals that are sensitive to pain if contrary to the provisions here provided; feed live animals to other animals unless this is necessary for the survival of the animal, and if so doing mimics the conditions in nature; restrict the movement of animals in a way that causes them pain, suffering, injury or fear; stun, slaughter or kill animals for ritual purposes; rear animals for fur production purposes; import skins and skin products of pups of specific seal species for commercial purposes; keep dolphins and other marine mammals of the family Cetacea in captivity, except for the purpose of medical treatment, recovery and care, and as service animals; prodding animals, squeezing, pulling or bending of body parts or hanging of animals, unless these are procedures in compliance with Council Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009 of 24 September 2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing, and hitting, drowning or suffocating animals in any other way, throwing or intentional trampling of animals using a means of transport; use animals for sexual relations, and any other equivalent procedures or any other procedures with animals for the purpose of satisfying the sexual needs of humans; exposing animals to fire, hot objects, corrosive or toxic compounds, or with other physical or chemical action contrary to the provisions of this Law; plucking the feathers from live poultry; shooting at animals regardless of the type of weapon or device for shooting, except for the purposes of stunning or killing animals in compliance with the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009 and for the purpose of protecting the safety of humans and animals; throw firecrackers or other pyrotechnical devices onto animals, with the exception of emergency situations when the need for the dispersal of animals is required pursuant to special regulations; use of animals for breeding that are not sexually mature and that have not completed their growth, animals after the rejection of offspring that have not yet recovered, and the use of sick, exhausted or injured animals, or animals not ready for mating; use of equines for the extraction of logs from forests and for the extraction of heating wood, except in inaccessible areas where this is not possible without the use of equines; run animals tied to motor vehicles in motion; keeping of animals for the purpose of ornamentation of space in hospitality and trading structures, with the exception of structures registered for the sale of pet animals (if animals are ensured appropriate keeping conditions and are not subject to disturbances); keep and use wild animals for the purpose of public display, with the exception of zoos and if in accordance with article 60 (paragraph 5) of this Law; display dogs with cropped ears and tails, with the exception of hunting dogs; match domestic dogs or domestic cats with wild animals from nature; joint keep unsocialised animals; keep bears (all Ursidae) in captivity, with the exception of zoos and shelters.